IQOS: Philip Morris underestimates the nicotine content of its Heets

A study[1] conducted by The Bureau of Investigative Journalism revealed that the amount of nicotine contained in mini-cigarettes (heets) of heated tobacco to be used with the IQOS device (Philip Morris International - PMI) is 8 times higher than that indicated by the manufacturer and that the user inhales twice as much nicotine as reported by the latter. There is currently no international standard for quantifying the nicotine inhaled with heated tobacco products, which leaves a gray area exploited by the manufacturer in the information provided to consumers.

Heated tobacco products are rapidly gaining popularity and now account for more than 2.5% of all tobacco product sales in the European Union.

Herbal teas contain up to 8 times more nicotine than PMI indicates

Consistent with certain promotional materials on its website available in several languages, PMI claimed to Bureau staff posing as consumers that each mini-cigarette (Heets brand) contained 0.5 mg of nicotine, which is incorrect.

 

The Bureau commissioned Unisanté, a university centre for general medicine and public health in Switzerland, to carry out the assays, the results of which were analysed by Force Technology in Denmark. On average, each mini-tobacco cigarette contains 4.1 mg of nicotine, which is 8 times more than the amount reported by PMI.

Up to twice as much nicotine inhaled by the consumer

In order to quantify the various products inhaled, including nicotine, by smokers of conventional cigarettes, the ISO (International Organization for Standardization) method, which uses smoking machines, is still in force in the EU. However, this method is strongly criticized by scientists because it underestimates the real behavior of smokers (who inhale more deeply than these machines) and is therefore unsuitable for informing consumers. Health Canada has also proposed a test method that is more in line with the real behavior of smokers, a method that has been scientifically validated and is recommended by the World Health Organization.

Currently, there is no validated method for quantifying products inhaled with heated tobacco consumption.

PMI puts forward the figure of 0.5 mg of nicotine inhaled per mini-cigarette (Heets) using its own modified version of the ISO method. In contrast, the Bureau's tests were conducted using Health Canada's method showing that the average amount of nicotine inhaled by a Heets user is 1.2 mg, more than double the value put forward by PMI.

Misleading communication from Philip Morris

This figure of 0.5 mg was the response given by IQOS salespeople in 11 European countries, maintaining confusion between the amount of nicotine present in each mini-cigarette and that inhaled by the smoker. An employee of the Swedish PMI website even claimed that the amount of nicotine in a Heets was 24 times lower than that in a conventional cigarette.

It is certain that these high amounts of nicotine inhaled with IQOS are the result of a strategy aimed at inducing nicotine addiction and maintaining it in the long term. This dimension, combined with intense marketing, explains why heated tobacco products are rapidly gaining popularity and now represent more than 2.5% of sales of all tobacco products in the European Union. Thus, Roberto Boffi, director of the Anti-Smoking Center of the National Cancer Institute in Milan, stated that some of their patients " appear to smoke more with IQOS than with traditional cigarettes ".

Concealing the content of inhaled nicotine, a recurring practice of the tobacco industry

The quantification of nicotine inhaled following the use of a tobacco product is a strategic area that the tobacco industry has long sought to control in order to be able to control the information of consumers and the general public.

Early 2018[2]-[3], the National Committee against Smoking (CNCT) had filed a complaint in France (Filtergate) against the four main tobacco manufacturers for manipulating their products, in particular filters, with a view to falsifying the tests required by the health authorities relating to tars, carbon monoxide and nicotine. In this case, now closed[4], the CNCT questioned the manufacturers' liability for having made micro-perforations in the filter for the sole purpose of falsifying the results of the ISO tests. The CNCT's aim was to bring the following to the public's attention: tobacco manufacturers secretly modified the technical properties of cigarettes in order to deceive the approved laboratories responsible for conducting the tests required by the Public Health Code to measure the levels of tar, nicotine, and carbon monoxide contained in the emissions of smoked cigarettes.[5]. Thus, the actual tar and nicotine content inhaled by smokers of conventional cigarettes can be between 2 and 10 times higher for tar and 5 times higher for nicotine than the levels announced by manufacturers.[6]. Also, smokers who think they smoke a pack a day actually smoke the equivalent of two to ten.[7].

Keywords: nicotine, heated tobacco, IQOS, Philip Morris, heets

©Generation Without Tobacco

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[1] Laura Margottini, Matthew Chapman, Philip Morris misleading the public about nicotine in heated tobacco, The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, published August 28, 2022, accessed August 29, 2022 [2] Press release, The “Filtergate” Scandal, CNCT, published on February 9, 2018, consulted on August 29, 2022 [3] Press release, Filtergate: opening of a preliminary investigation, CNCT, published on May 5, 2018, consulted on August 29, 2022 [4] Complaint for endangering human life. In the absence of direct harm, the CNCT is declared inadmissible in its current state to act. [5] JS Wigand. Cigarette testing methods, product design, and labeling: time to clean up the “negative baggage”. Tobacco Control Vol 7, issue 4, http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/7/4/336. Internal British American Tobacco document, R&D views on potential marketing opportunities, 1984. [6] Reply memorandum of September 17, 1985, against BAT by Philip Morris in Neuchâtel, RJ Reynolds. [7] Djordjevic MV, Stellman SD, Zang E. Doses of nicotine and lung carcinogens delivered to cigarette smokers. Journal of the National Cancer Institute. 2000;92(2):10611. Scherer G (1999). Smoking behavior and compensation: a review of the literature. Psychopharmacology 145:1–20. Hammond D, Fong GT, Cummings K M. et al. Cigarette yields and human exposure: a comparison of alternative smoking regimes. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2006151495–1501. National Committee Against Smoking |