‘Heated tobacco’ products aren’t e-cigarettes
Tobacco manufacturer Philip Morris International (PMI) insists that its “heated tobacco” product is different from e-cigarettes.
Thai law prohibits e-cigarettes being sold here or brought in. A recent petition on chang.org sought a review of the ban and urged that the e-cigarette be reclassified a “controlled product”. Media reports have queried whether PMI’s heated-tobacco product is an e-cigarette.
Philip Morris (Thailand) managing director Gerald Margolis said on Friday that its product heats tobacco well below the point of combustion, rather than burning the tobacco. “This is different from e-cigarettes, which generate nicotine-containing aerosols by heating a liquid without using tobacco leaves,” he said in a press release. He added that many smokers find it difficult to quit, so it was “important” for them to have access to less harmful alternatives.
Britain’s Committee on Toxicity recently issued a press release describing the core findings of a review on heated tobacco products. It concluded that, while still harmful to health, heated-tobacco products are likely to be less risky than smoking conventional cigarettes. “Our vision on ‘designing a smoke-free future’ is to replace cigarettes with non-combustible products as soon as possible,” Margolis said. Source: Asia Nation
