What is Heated Tobacco & What are Heated Tobacco Products?
By Elina Panayotova
What is heated tobacco?
Heated tobacco is a nicotine containing alternative to smoking. Tobacco is used with a tobacco heating device to heat the tobacco and release a nicotine containing vapour. How this occurs depends on the heat-not-burn system, this process may happen via a blade which is inserted into the tobacco stick to heat the tobacco from the inside. Other tobacco heating systems, such as IQOS ILUMA, use an induction heating system instead – relying on a metallic element already inside of the heated tobacco stick. Read on to find out more.
How Does Heated Tobacco Work?
Heated Tobacco devices, also known as heat-not-burn products, heat real tobacco, rather than e-liquid, to release a nicotine-containing vapour without burning the tobacco. The heating process results in formation of vapour rather than smoke, which is produced through combustion.
What is a Tobacco Heating System?
Our heated tobacco products (sometimes called tobacco heating products) combine an electronic device, called IQOS, with specially-designed heated tobacco sticks called TEREA. IQOS can also be used to heat tobacco-free sticks, called LEVIA.
IQOS devices need to be plugged in and charged regularly. Once the device is charged, the TEREA tobacco stick can then be inserted into the device. When used, the user can inhale the vapour that is released by the heating of the tobacco. When the experience is finished, the TEREA tobacco stick can be removed from the device and discarded in a bin. Learn how to use an IQOS device.
How Does Heated Tobacco Compare to Smoking and Vaping?
Heated tobacco shares similarities to other nicotine containing products such as cigarettes and vaping devices, however differs in many ways too. Read on to find out more in this section.
Heated Tobacco vs. Cigarettes
Like cigarettes, TEREA contains real tobacco to provide cigarette-like satisfaction* when used with IQOS ILUMA, with one TEREA stick lasting roughly the same duration as a cigarette. Unlike cigarettes though, the price of Heated Tobacco is often considerably less. For example, TEREA tobacco sticks have an RRP of £7 for a pack of 20 sticks, less than half the average price of a pack of 20 cigarettes. For this reason, By switching to IQOS, you can save up to £3,400 a year**.
Heated Tobacco is also a better alternative than continuing to smoke. IQOS produces 95% less harmful chemicals, compared to cigarettes.
IQOS heats tobacco instead of burning it, producing less harmful chemicals than cigarettes***.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION: It does not necessarily equal a 95% reduction in risk. IQOS is not risk-free.
Heated Tobacco vs. Vaping
Heated tobacco is not the same as vaping — here are some of the key differences between the two:
- Electronic cigarettes heat liquids (referred to as e-juice or e-liquids) to produce a vapour; these liquids do not contain tobacco.
- Tobacco heating systems do not use e-liquids; they heat real tobacco to produce a nicotine-containing tobacco vapour.
Both Heated Tobacco and vaping utilize an electronic device to heat a substance to product a vapour, and both are considered better alternatives than continuing to smoke.
What Are Heated Tobacco Sticks?
Heated Tobacco Sticks are the consumables paired with Heated Tobacco devices. Different devices may be compatible with different Heated Tobacco Sticks. For instance, IQOS ILUMA Devices are only compatible with TEREA tobacco sticks, whereas older IQOS devices (such as IQOS Originals DUO) are compatible with HEETS tobacco sticks. IQOS ILUMA devices are also compatible with LEVIA – a tobacco free consumable.
What are Heated Tobacco Sticks Made Of?
HEETS tobacco sticks are specially designed tobacco units containing real tobacco leaf and intended for exclusive use with IQOS HeatControl™ Technology. The uniquely designed tobacco sticks are heated using an electronically controlled heating blade, rather than being burned like cigarettes. The generated vapour that the user inhales contains nicotine, which is naturally present in the tobacco.
TEREA tobacco sticks also contain real tobacco leaf, however the tobacco sticks are fully sealed and contain a metal element already inside. TEREA is made exclusively for IQOS ILUMA heated tobacco devices, using its ingenious SMARTCORE INDUCTION SYSTEM™ to heat the tobacco stick.
What Are the Different Heated Tobacco Stick Flavours?
TEREA Tobacco sticks come in a wide range of variants, with 16 in total to choose from. TEREA tobacco sticks are available in various ranges: Classic Tobacco, Menthol & Aromatic and PEARLS (which release flavour on a click with a capsule). Aromatic, menthol and capsulated blends are not available in Northern Ireland. You can find out more about the range of TEREA Heated Tobacco Sticks here.
Explore IQOS Heated Tobacco Products
Learn more heated tobacco today and browse the full IQOS range.
For £5 upfront, we also offer the option to TRY IQOS for 14 days, more details available here.
*3-month clinical studies conducted in US and Japan with 160 adult smokers each under real conditions (ambulatory)
**Claim compares (i) the cost of smoking an average priced pack of cigarettes (with king size filter) per day, and (ii) the cost of buying an IQOS ILUMA ONE Starter Kit (RRP £29), andthen consuming one pack of TEREA daily (RRP £7). In December 2024, the average price for a pack of cigarettes with king size filter was £16.45 (ONS data). Savings will vary depending on IQOS ILUMA model and Starter Kit selected. For further information, visit www.iqos.com/legal.
***“95% less” represents the average reduction in levels of the 9 chemicals recommended for reduction in cigarette smoke by the World Health Organization, which do not include nicotine.
