Studies have shown that when smokers try vaping products they can do one of three things :
• give up smoking entirely and switch to vaping only
• vape and smoke
• stop vaping and revert to smoking .
Heated tobacco products aim to capture those smokers who want to quit but who are reluctant or unwilling to switch to vaping instead . It may be that some smokers use heated tobacco products as a stepping stone to vaping but many smokers may switch to heated tobacco and find that meets their needs . Philip Morris is clear that its target market for heated tobacco is smokers and not vapers . On its website SmokeFreeFuture . co . uk it says : “ Heated tobacco products are not risk free . They deliver nicotine and are addictive . They ’ re only for adults who smoke – not former smokers or for people who have never smoked .”
The idea behind heat-not-burn products is to produce a nicotinecontaining vapour which is less harmful than cigarette smoke and which appeal to those who would otherwise continue to smoke . Professor Manual Peitsch , Chief Scientific Officer at Philip Morris International , said : " Along with many public health experts , we believe innovative products backed up by solid science can play an important role to reduce the harm of smoking .” In May 2014 , 53 prominent public health experts and leading scientists from over 18 countries wrote an open letter to the World Health Organisation ( WHO ) urging the organisation to support tobacco harm reduction . They wrote : “ There are now rapid developments in nicotine-based products that can effectively substitute for cigarettes with very low risks . These include , for example , e-cigarettes and other vapour products , low-nitrosamine smokeless tobacco such as snus , and other low-risk non-combustible nicotine or tobacco products that may become viable alternatives to smoking in the future .
“ The potential for tobacco harm reduction products to reduce the burden of smoking-related disease is very large , and these products could be among the most significant innovations of the 21st century – perhaps saving hundreds of millions of lives .” A 2014 a report commissioned by Public Health England titled “ Electronic Cigarettes ” examined vaping products and other alternatives to smoking and concluded : “ The emergence of electronic cigarettes and the likely arrival of more effective nicotine - containing devices currently in development provides a radical alternative to tobacco , and evidence to date suggests that smokers are willing to use these products in substantial numbers .
“ Electronic cigarettes , and other nicotine devices , therefore offer vast potential health benefits … the opportunity to harness this potential into public health policy , complementing existing comprehensive tobacco control policies , should not be missed .” Heated tobacco products will not be for everyone , just as vaping is not for everyone , but they are both products which can help smokers quit cigarettes and that surely must be a good thing .
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