Important information about IQOS

Safety Warnings & Instructions

Good conversion practices for pmi’s smoke-freeproductspmi offers a variety of quality, scientifically substantiated smoke-free products that are much better choices than continued smoking. Our vision is that our smoke-free products will one day replace cigarettes.

1.cigarette smoking causes serious diseases and is addictive. Without question, the best decision any smoker can make is to quit tobacco and nicotine use altogether.
2.minors should not use tobacco or nicotine in any form.
3.pmi’s smoke-free products are foradults who would otherwise continue to smoke or use other nicotine products.
4.we do not offer pmi’s smoke-free productsto  people  who  have  never  used  tobacco  or nicotine products or who have quit using tobacco and nicotine products. Our smoke-freeproductsare not alternatives to quitting and are not designed as cessation aids.
5.pmi’s smoke-freeproductsare  not  risk  free  and  contain  nicotine,  which  is  addictive. Switching to a smoke-freeproductis, however, a better choice than continuing to smoke.
6.we support our adult smoke-freeproduct usersin their journey to full conversion through education and guidance.
7.for  consumers  to  experience  the  benefits  of smoke-freeproducts,  they  must  switch completely and abandon smoking permanently.
8.we inform consumers of all relevant safety information about our smoke-free products.

Tobacco and Nicotine

·         Tobacco units used with IQOSTM devices, contain nicotine, which is addictive.

·         IQOS is not risk-free. The best way to reduce tobacco- and nicotine-related health risks is to quit tobacco and nicotine use altogether.

·         Some users of nicotine-containing products may experience abdominal pain, chest pain, choking sensation, cough, difficulty breathing, dizziness, dry mouth, dry throat, gingivitis, headache, malaise, nasal stuffiness, nausea, mouth irritation, palpitations, throat irritation, and vomiting.

·         Nicotine-containing products should not be used by people who have or are at risk of heart disease, are diabetic, are epileptic, or are experiencing seizures.

·         Nicotine-containing products should not be used during pregnancy or while breast-feeding.  If you are pregnant, breast-feeding, or think you may be pregnant, you should quit tobacco and nicotine use altogether.

·         Stopping smoking or switching to IQOS and its tobacco units, or other nicotine-containing products may require the adjustment of the dosing of certain medicines (e.g. theophylline, clozapine, ropinirole). 

·         If you have questions about whether you should use IQOS given an existing health condition, consult a health care professional.

Use of tobacco units

·         Only use IQOS 3 DUOTM or earlier generation devices with tobacco units. Never use IQOS devices with a cigarette or similar products. Doing so may cause injury.

·         Do not modify tobacco units in any way or add any substance to them. Doing so may result in injury.

Prior to use of a product, users should read the full Safety Warnings & Instructions, which contain important safety information about the use of the product.

Safety Warnings & Instructions for IQOS 3 DUO [PDF]

Safety Warnings & Instructions for IQOS 3 MULTI [PDF]

Safety Warnings & Instructions for IQOS 2.4 PLUS [PDF]

Battery Degradation

IQOS devices, including holders, contain a lithium-ion battery. The lithium-ion battery in the devices is a consumable component that degrades with usage and age. This is a natural process common to all rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. As the battery ages, the active ingredients inside the battery become less capable of retaining energy, resulting in a permanent decrease in maximum battery capacity and usable energy. In addition, the active ingredients become less effective in delivering energy, resulting in a decrease of the battery’s ability to provide sufficient power for electronic device components to operate. As a result, where relevant, the duration of experience may appear to be shorter, the number of puffs or experiences with one full charge may appear to be fewer, the second consecutive use might be shorter or missing.

The battery is a chemical system that requires certain temperature ranges during charge and discharge to work optimally and minimize battery capacity degradation over its lifetime. Although your device has a specific operating range within which the device will function, operating at the extreme ends of this range will degrade your battery faster. Your device comes with customized software to control the charging parameters in order to maximize the life of your device. These algorithms can support the longevity of your battery life, but they can still never fully mitigate the normal aging mechanisms of lithium batteries. High and low temperature operation of your device will accelerate the natural degradation of your battery. Even if you do not use your device the batteries contain chemical systems which can still degrade over time. In order to slow the battery degradation process, we recommend charging your device within the recommended temperature zone, not keeping it discharged for long periods of time and using the charging cables and power adaptors that come together with the device as per the user guides.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is using IQOS safe or risk-free?  No. IQOS is not risk-free and delivers nicotine, which is addictive. The best option is to quit tobacco and nicotine use altogether.

Is nicotine harmful?  Nicotine is addictive.  However, it is not the main cause of smoking related diseases. IQOS delivers nicotine in a comparable way to cigarettes. Our clinical studies show that the amount and rate of nicotine absorbed when using one tobacco unit with IQOS is comparable to that of smoking one cigarette.

How do you measure IQOS emissions, which you claim are reduced on average by 95% compared to the smoke of a 3R4F cigarette? We state that IQOS emits on average 90-95% lower levels of harmful chemicals compared to cigarettes.  The percentage (90-95%) refers to the average reduction of the levels of certain constituents prioritized for action by renowned public health organizations such as the WHO and the US FDA, and which are found in IQOS tobacco vapor, when compared to the smoke from a 3R4F reference cigarette. The exact percentage reduction depends on the specific list being referenced.  To this effect, we collect the tobacco vapor and smoke under the Health Canada Intense machine-smoking regime (55 mL puff volume, 2 second puff duration, 30 second interval puff) using a comparison on a per stick basis. Reduction calculations exclude nicotine.

What is the totality of evidence you refer to when claiming that switching to IQOS presents less risk than continued smoking? The totality of evidence includes PMI’s clinical data (we conducted 10 clinical studies with thousands of participants in the US, UK, Japan and Poland), aerosol chemistry, and data from 18 nonclinical studies. The totality of evidence demonstrates that switching completely to IQOS, while not risk-free, presents less risk of harm compared with continuing to smoke cigarettes.

What is this 3R4F cigarette you refer to?  It is a cigarette independently designed by the University of Kentucky in the US for scientific research purposes. It is a comparator commonly used in tobacco research, which allows the data of a given study to be compared to that of another study. 3R4F research cigarettes are not commercially available to consumers.

Please read more on important information in Frequently Asked Questions here

You will find bellow the sources we use for IQOS products:

IQOS heats tobacco instead of burning it, producing on average 95% less harmful chemicals compared to cigarettes*.

Switching completely to IQOS is less harmful than continuing to smoke**.

*Source: *"95% less" represents the average reductions in levels of a range of harmful chemicals (excluding nicotine) compared to the smoke of a reference cigarette (3R4F).

**Source: Based on the totality of evidence available for IQOS in comparison with continuing to smoke.

CIGARETTES PRODUCE TAR, IQOS DOESN’T.

"Tar" is the residue from smoke after a cigarette is burned.

IQOS does not produce tar because it heats tobacco instead of burning it. It generates an aerosol residue that is fundamentally different from “Tar” and consists of significantly lower levels of harmful chemicals*.

Switching completely to IQOS is less harmful than continuing to smoke**.

*Average reductions in levels of a range of harmful chemicals (excluding nicotine) compared to cigarette smoke.

**Source: Based on the totality of evidence available for IQOS in comparison with continuing to smoke

CIGARETTES PRODUCE HIGH AMOUNTS OF CARBON MONOXIDE. IQOS DOESN’T.

Cigarettes burn tobacco, which produces high amounts of carbon monoxide. 

IQOS doesn’t burn tobacco, producing on average 98% less carbon monoxide (CO) and significantly lower levels of other harmful chemicals compared to cigarettes.*

 Switching completely to IQOS is less harmful than continuing to smoke**.

*Source: We measured the levels of certain harmful chemicals prioritized for reporting by renowned public health organizations, and these are reduced on average by 95% compared to the smoke of a cigarette (nicotine excluded).

**Source: Based on the totality of evidence available for IQOS in comparison with continuing to smoke.