iQOS is a battery-operated electronic device, which mimics the looks,
taste, and sensory experience of a cigarette. It contains a specially
designed heat stick, which uses a tobacco plug to deliver nicotine. This
is heated to temperatures well below those at which conventional
cigarettes burn, producing a tobacco-infused vapour for inhalation
rather than smoke.To get more news about
Heat not burn, you can visit hitaste official website.
Tobacco
smoke is what contains the cocktail of chemicals that is so harmful to
health.The manufacturer, Philip Morris International, has evaluated IQOS
in several published studies, but there has been little independent
research.
To try and plug this gap, the US researchers set out to
assess the performance of iQOS under five different puff conditions,
and the impact of two cleaning protocols: a thorough clean after use of
each heat stick to remove fluid and debris from the heater; and the
manufacturer's recommendations to clean the device after every 20 heat
sticks before using the brush cleaners supplied with the product.The
researchers also wanted to gauge if the plastic polymer film filter,
which aims to cool the vapour, might pose a risk to health.
Each
iQOS heat stick only lasts for 6 minutes after which it automatically
shuts off and requires recharging before use. So to get the most out of
each heat stick, real life users would have to shorten the interval
between puffs, speeding up their puff rate, and potentially breathing in
larger amounts of vapour, say the researchers.
The tobacco plug
charred as a result of pyrolysis -- thermal decomposition in the absence
of oxygen. Charring was more extensive when thorough cleaning was not
carried out after use of each heat stick, suggesting that build-up of
debris and fluid increases pyrolytic temperatures, say the researchers.
Analysis
of the polymer film showed that irrespective of whether cleaning was
done or not, the intensity of the heat was sufficient to melt the film
even though it was not in direct contact with the heating
element.Following the manufacturer's recommended cleaning instructions
increased both the extent of charring and polymer film melt.
Of
further concern was the release of fomaldehyde cyanohydrin by the
melting filter at temperatures that all users will easily exceed, say
the researchers. This chemical is highly toxic even at very low levels.
"iQOS
is not strictly a 'heat not burn' tobacco product," write the
researchers, who go on to say: "This study has shown that the iQOS
system may not be as harm free as claimed, and also emphasises the
urgent need for further safety testing as the popularity and user base
of this product is growing rapidly.
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