26 June 2025

Comparison Between Heated Tobacco, Electronic Cigarettes, and Traditional Smoking

For adult smokers exploring tobacco products, there are several types of smoking options now available. Among these, heated tobacco or smoke-free alternatives, electronic cigarettes, and cigarette smoking are the most discussed due to their differences in composition, nicotine delivery, and potential smoking effects.

What Are Traditional Cigarettes?

Conventional cigarettes—also referred to as regular cigarettes—burn tobacco leaves, releasing tobacco smoke that contains thousands of chemicals. These include chemicals, such as carbon monoxide, tar, and aromatic hydrocarbons.

Heated Tobacco Products

Heated tobacco products offer a smoke-free alternative to smoking. Instead of combustion, they use a heated tobacco device to warm specially designed heated tobacco sticks. This heating process generates a tobacco aerosol, not smoke, and avoids the high temperatures that produce many of the toxins found in cigarette smoke.

Devices like IQOS ILUMA ONE, which uses real tobacco, are examples of such innovations. They are designed to heat-not-burn tobacco.

According to current research, when used correctly and exclusively, these devices emit up to 95% less harmful chemicals compared to conventional cigarettes. This includes reductions in carbonyl compounds, particulate matter emissions, and e-cigarette aerosols.

Many heated tobacco users also appreciate the additional practical benefits: no smoke, no ash, and significantly less odour.

Heated tobacco is not risk-free. It still contains nicotine, which is addictive. However, for current smokers, switching to heated tobacco devices may present a reduction in risk when compared to continued smoking.

Electronic Cigarettes

Electronic cigarettes differ fundamentally from both traditional and heated tobacco. They use a liquid solution, flavourings, and typically nicotine. This liquid is vapourised to create an inhalable mist.

Electronic cigarettes do not contain any tobacco, which leads to a different experience in taste, ritual, and aroma. The vapour produced may carry the scent of the flavour used and is less persistent than the smell of cigarette smoke.

There are many types of electronic cigarettes and they represent a distinct category of nicotine products and are another type of tobacco product despite not containing actual tobacco.

Learn more about the differences between e-cigarettes and vapes in our detailed comparison.

Comparing Alternatives to Smoking

Heated Tobacco Products vs Vaping

When comparing heated tobacco products like IQOS to electronic cigarettes or vaping, several distinctions emerge. IQOS heats real tobacco in heated tobacco sticks, generating an aerosol, while electronic cigarettes use a heated liquid to produce vapour. Both options are alternatives to smoking cigarettes, and they maintain the tobacco ritual without combustion. IQOS and electronic cigarettes allow flavour variability and device customisation.

Find out more information about the difference in smell between vaping, heated tobacco products, and traditional cigarettes.

Heated Tobacco Products vs Cigarette Smoking

Unlike cigarettes, IQOS heated tobacco systems like IQOS ILUMA do not use tobacco leaves, resulting in no ash or smoke. This method drastically reduces the emission of smoking constituents such as carbon monoxide and aromatic hydrocarbons, while providing a familiar tobacco experience. However, heated tobacco users are still exposed to nicotine and should consider this when weighing the potential benefits.

Explore more on this topic in our detailed comparison between heated tobacco products and traditional cigarettes.

Vaping vs Cigarette Smoking

The shift from traditional smoking to vaping brings significant changes. Electronic cigarettes produce vapour rather than smoke, eliminating cigarette smoke and ash. As alternative tobacco products, vapes do not contain real tobacco, offering a new experience that may not replicate the ritual of cigarette smoking, but they often appeal to those looking for flavour variety and minimal lingering odour.

Despite being smoke-free, electronic cigarettes still deliver nicotine and are not suitable for non-smokers. For adult cigarette smokers, switching to vaping may offer a different experience to conventional combustion cigarettes.

Read more about the difference between vaping and smoking cigarettes.

How to Choose Between Heated Tobacco, Electronic Cigarettes, and Cigarette Smoking

Familiarity with the Tobacco Industry

The tobacco industry has seen a shift in consumer preferences, with more adult users exploring alternatives to smoking. For current smokers who value the ritual of smoking, heated tobacco products may offer a closer match to traditional cigarettes.

Learn more about the Heat-Not-Burn technology and how the tobacco heating system works.

Nicotine Delivery System

Traditional cigarettes, heated tobacco products, and electronic cigarettes differ significantly in how they deliver nicotine to the body.

In cigarettes, nicotine is rapidly absorbed through the lungs due to the high temperatures of combustion, resulting in a strong and immediate effect.

Heated tobacco products, such as IQOS, deliver nicotine through an aerosol generated by heating—not burning—tobacco, which produces a more controlled release.

Electronic cigarettes or vapes use e-liquids that may contain freebase nicotine or nicotine salts, allowing users to adjust nicotine strength and absorption speed.

These differences in nicotine delivery play a crucial role in adult user experience.

Exposure to Chemicals

Combustible cigarettes release thousands of chemicals, including aromatic hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide. Heated tobacco users benefit from reduced emissions, with some devices delivering up to 95% fewer harmful constituents. This makes both smoke-free alternatives preferable for many adult users.

Smell and Social Considerations

Traditional smoking leaves behind a persistent smell on clothing, hair, and surroundings. Heated tobacco and electronic cigarettes are more socially discreet. Heated tobacco products emit minimal odour and no ash, while e-cigarette aerosols typically dissipate quickly.

Many adult users find that switching from traditional cigarettes improves the smell of their homes and clothes. Additionally, reducing exposure to smoking in shared environments can positively impact others, especially in closed or poorly ventilated areas.

Device Maintenance and Ease of Use

Electronic cigarettes may require frequent maintenance, including coil replacement and e-liquid refills. Devices like IQOS ILUMA, are typically easier to use—just insert the tobacco stick, activate it, and dispose after use. Conventional cigarettes need no device but generate smoke and lingering odours.

Discover the convenience of IQOS ORIGINALS DUO, a device that offers consecutive uses and is compatible with HEETS tobacco sticks

Affordability and Cost

The price of heated tobacco sticks and e-liquids is often lower than a pack of tobacco cigarettes, especially over time. Budget-conscious users may find alternative tobacco products to be more cost-effective, depending on local market prices. Long-term adult users switching from cigarettes often cite financial savings as a key benefit. Over time, changing your type of tobacco product can influence your overall expenses and experience.

For adult smokers in Egypt seeking smoke-free products, both heated tobacco products and electronic cigarettes present viable choices that differ from traditional cigarettes in form and function.

As the tobacco industry continues to shift, new innovations reflect changing priorities—emphasising harm reduction for adult smokers. The rise of alternatives also signals a significant transformation in the tobacco industry, with a greater focus on innovation, regulation, and conscious solutions.

Explore the innovative features of IQOS ILUMA ONE or experience advanced design with IQOS ILUMA PRIME—both devices use specially designed heated tobacco sticks for a smoke-free alternative.

IQOS is not risk-free and provides nicotine, which is addictive. Only for use by adults.