Are the new type of tobacco sticks as bad for your health as traditional cigarettes? According to some studies, the new tobacco products also cause some damage to lung cells. Smokeless heated products made from tobacco and biopolymer that do not burn are already incredibly popular in some markets, but they have not yet reached all countries. For this reason, in this article we try to address the most important health aspects of the new trend among smokers. Read on to find out some useful information regarding modern tobacco sticks. Will you give up habitual smoking?
Are tobacco sticks better for your health?
In much the same way that e-cigarettes have been promoted as a safer alternative to traditional smoking, public health experts believe heated tobacco sticks could be the next big phase for the tobacco industry. However, you may want to think again before trying the trend as a variation. The so-called HNB (Heat-Not-Burn) stick may not be as harmless to health as its manufacturer claims. The company touted the marketing of its new product as a revolutionary technology that heats tobacco without burning it. So you can enjoy the true taste of tobacco without smoke, without ash and without smell.
But is it really like that? A research group from the universities of Bern, Lausanne and Lausanne / Geneva - all in Switzerland - looked into the matter. Their findings, published online in the Journal of the American Medical Association/Internal Medicine on May 22, 2017, contradict advertising. The researchers used standardized, internationally acceptable methods to test the disposable cigarette and compare it to tobacco cigarettes. They captured the exhaled aerosol in a glass filter at a rate of two puffs per minute. Researchers used this to carry out numerous analyzes to determine the components of the vapor.
How exactly do they work?
While cigarette smoking remains one of the most pressing global health issues of our time, newer forms of smoking devices have been introduced worldwide over the past decade. Electronic systems forDelivery of nicotine/ Non-nicotine, commonly known as electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), heat a solution (liquid) to produce vapor. The latest addition to this list is the introduction of HNB (Heat-Not-Burn) tobacco products. These tobacco products are actually hybrids between electronic cigarettes and traditional tobacco cigarettes. This means that they are equipped with a device that heats the contents without burning them to produce aerosols, and the product being heated is not a liquid but real tobacco.
The sticks are soaked in propylene glycol and, once dry, inserted into an HNB cigarette holder. When heated with an electric heating rod, the tobacco is heated to 350 degrees Celsius, creating a sensation similar to smoking a regular cigarette. Propylene glycol, which is classified as a safe product for humans by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, is used as a tobacco preservative, among other uses. Traditional tobacco cigarettes typically burn at a little less than 800 degrees Celsius.
Less pollutants – yes or no?
In their study, the researchers also found that tobacco sticks contain 84% of the nicotine found in conventional cigarettes. While nicotine itself is not a human carcinogen, its inhalation has been identified asCause of tumors that produce cancercan, postulates. Among the smoke's chemicals, scientists and doctors isolated carbon monoxide and those with names like acrolein, benzaldehyde, formaldehyde and acenaphthene, among more than two dozen others. The percentages of the final four chemicals compared to cigarettes were 82%, 50%, 74% and 295%. None of the other chemicals were greater than 41% of the amount found in a regular cigarette.
The research team used tobacco sticks and compared them to cigarettes. HNB cigarettes are sold in at least 19 countries worldwide. Japanese respondents to an internet survey published in 2015 showed that former and current smokers, as well as people aged 15 to 39, tended to smoke HNB tobacco sticks. This study also breaks new ground by shedding light on the possible harmful effects of smoking HNB cigarettes. It is also highlighted that HNB cigarette smoke can be considered as exhaled smoke.
Less harmful than cigarettes?
As a limitation, the study could have used a larger number of cigarette brands when comparing HNB and conventional varieties. Overall, the results show that although inhaled smoke is short-lived, its consequences may not be. Because of their newness, there is little scientific research on these devices regarding their safety and usefulness for smoking cessation. The study concludes that such devices such as cigarettes and e-cigarettes can lead to inflammation, oxidative stress and other harmful effects on the lungs and respiratory tract. In the long term, this can lead to serious health problems typically seen in smokers, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer. The study is an important first step in understanding the potential harm of smokeless tobacco sticks, which you only need to heat.
Comparison to e-cigarettes
So non-burning tobacco products are the most novel iteration of electronic smoking. However, unlike e-cigarettes and vaporizers, no nicotine-infused liquid (“e-juice”) is used. They use real tobacco. Inside the device is a carefully calibrated heating mechanism that heats the tobacco to approximately 299°C below combustion temperature, producing an inhalable aerosol.
Part of the appeal of such devices is that they can provide a distinctly noticeable sensation similar to traditional smoking, which is very often missing from other smokeless e-cigarette models. “Heat-not-burn” products are not yet available everywhere in the world, but they have proven incredibly popular in test markets such as Europe and Asia, where some have been available since 2014. So the tobacco industry still needs to prove that its newest products like these tobacco products may be lessare more harmful than cigarettes. Until then, the regulatory environment assumes that it is just another tobacco product.
Do tobacco sticks help you quit smoking?
A federal and related debate continues today. People should receive information about whether e-cigarettes and vaporizers actually help smokers quit. Another and equally important topic is the young generation, which feels addressed by it and could easily be attracted. In fact, advertising campaigns are also likely to impact young non-smokers.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recorded a dramatic increase of 1.5 million youth tobacco users between 2017 and 2018. This is due to the popularity of e-cigarettes among teenagers. While the role of e-cigarettes against tobacco use is clear, they play a much smaller role in smoking cessation. Public health experts claim that tobacco sticks are just another attempt to get more people to smoke.
What is the risk?
Consumption is logically not without risk, although it produces fewer harmful pollutants. The manufacturer even claims that they are up to 95% less. They still produceNicotine, which is a very addictiveis a harmful, health-endangering substance. All symptoms and especially their explanations are based only on observations. These cannot be measured precisely and cannot be considered more important than the opinion of an expert. If you have any health problems, no matter when, you should talk to your doctor.
However, as mentioned above, some researchers analyzed the chemical compounds and nicotine in smoke from traditional cigarettes. These are new devices suitable for heating disposable tobacco sticks and tasting tobacco without smoke or ash. Cigarettes that don't burn also release cancer-causing chemicals, including carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.
However, there is no minimum safe limit for some of the chemicals in unburned cigarette smoke, and some of these chemicals may contribute to the high mortality rate of smokers. Based on their findings, the researchers conclude that heated tobacco sticks should fall under the same smoking bans. These also apply to conventional cigarettes and prevent bystanders from inhaling the fumes. That's because new tobacco products threaten progress in reducing the harms of secondhand smoke. Existing bans may not apply to cigarettes that you only heat up.
The bottom line
What conclusion should a regular user draw? Tobacco sticks are definitely harmful and cannot be recommended to non-smokers. For a classic cigarette smoker, the stick contains 80% to 90% fewer dangerous ingredients, despite the potentially unknown harmful substances. Some experts have already admitted this. The water vapor created by the evaporation of glycerin from the tobacco sticks does not contain tar. In most cases, this is considered the main cause of illness and cancer, as no paper is burned.
It has also become clear that giving it to a smoker significantly improves breathing after an initial coughing of tar from the lungs and makes the person feel better in a while. In addition, there are often a very high percentage of smokers who have been helped by these tobacco products to quit smoking traditional tobacco cigarettes in the short term. Nevertheless, we recommend that you take care of your health by exposing your lungs to pollutants as little as possible.
