Heated Tobacco Products

Welcome to our briefing on heated tobacco products. Keep reading to learn more about these devices, also known as heat-not-burn, tobacco-heating-system or tobacco vaporisers, and find out how the products are on the rise in the UK.

Heated tobacco products

A hand is holding a thin black device that looks like a pen with a short white tube coming out the top,

Heated tobacco products – also known as heat-not-burn, tobacco-heating-system or tobacco vaporisers – are relatively new, having been available on the UK market since around 2016. They consist of a device that looks like an e-cigarette in which a tobacco or herbal stick is fitted.

The sticks usually contain tobacco and are heated to release vapour inhaled by users. There are an increasing number of products which contain a nicotine-infused herbal or plant-derived product.

All four Big Tobacco companies sell heated tobacco products globally. The Phillip Morris-owned IQOS with tobacco sticks called ‘Heets’ is currently the most widely available.

A black device sits on a table with a white stick coming out the top

Nicotine pouch prevalence

An ASH England survey in 2024 showed that 19% of adults had heard of heated tobacco products, 2.6% had ever tried and 0.9% currently use them.

Current use has more than doubled among people who smoke during the last few years, from 1.5% in 2020 to 3.5% in 2024.

Current use among ex-smokers and never-smokers is less than 1%. Ever-use has more than doubled since 2020 among people who smoke (4.4% to 9.6%), ex-smokers (1.2% to 2.7%) and never-smokers (0.3% to 0.8%).

Another survey among young people aged 16-19 in England found that past 30-day use had almost trebled from 0.6% in 2018 to 1.7% in 2023.

There is insufficient evidence to suggest that heated tobacco products are effective as a smoking cessation device.

A longitudinal study in Japan between 2019 and 2021 found that heated tobacco products do not help people who smoke to quit or prevent relapse after smoking cessation.

Health harms and cessation

  • There is evidence that people who smoke switching to heated tobacco products are exposed to many toxicants and carcinogens found in regular cigarettes as well as other harmful ingredients not present in regular cigarettes.
  • A report from the European Respiratory Society highlighted evidence that ‘reduced-risk’ claims are misleading and that a number of harmful substances were higher in heated tobacco products.
  • Due to the lower levels of toxic chemicals being emitted, heated tobacco products are marketed by tobacco companies as reduced-risk products. There is insufficient evidence to establish whether and how this translates into long-term health harms.

Nicotine is a health-harming substance which can be very addictive.

An elderly man with a beard wearing a suit sits on a seat with a long, black, pen shaped device in his right hand

How are these products regulated?

  • The tobacco-containing sticks and heated tobacco product devices are regulated by Scotland's tobacco advertising laws, unlike in other parts of the UK where only the tobacco product is regulated. Nicotine-infused non-tobacco-containing sticks do not fall under these restrictions in Scotland.
  • Since 2022, regulations under the EU Tobacco Products Directive banned flavoured heated tobacco product sticks and made health warnings and packaging information mandatory for the products being sold in member states. This ban does not apply to Scotland, England and Wales due to Brexit.
  • Heated tobacco products are not captured under the Smoking, Health and Social Care (Scotland) Act 2005. Premises in Scotland are currently encouraged to set their own policies to restrict the use of heated tobacco products and e-cigarettes in indoor public spaces.
  • ASH Scotland advocates for the consistent regulation of heated tobacco products and their sticks (containing tobacco or not) in line with tobacco regulations.
A man with a black beard and mustache is using two fingers to place a nicotine pouch in his upper lip. His lips are open in a smile to allow the pouch in.

You can download a PDF file of the 'Heated tobacco products' factsheet which includes references.

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