It is widely known that cigarette smoking is harmful, yet there are over one billion smokers in the world today.

If you hear the word aerosol, you might think of a can of deodorant, but it’s actually much more than that. Aerosol is the scientific, umbrella term for solid and liquid particles suspended in gas – such as a cloud. Smoke is actually a type of aerosol that is generated during combustion, the scientific name for ‘burning.’ And while smoke is an aerosol, not all aerosols are smoke.

Science and technology have allowed the production of alternative products that don’t burn tobacco, therefore don’t produce smoke—they are in fact, smoke-free. When scientifically substantiated and subject to appropriate quality and safety requirements, smoke-free products do not create smoke and therefore should not be a source of second-hand smoke or ash. The absence of smoke can significantly reduce the average levels of harmful chemicals in smoke-free products when compared to cigarettes. Whilst not risk-free and delivering nicotine, which is addictive, scientifically substantiated smoke-free products are better alternative to adult smokers who would otherwise continue smoking.

What is Smoke?

Smoke is the result of combustion or burning. When a cigarette is lit is burns tobacco at temperatures up to 900°C. That creates smoke which contains approximately 6,000 chemicals, around 100 of which have been classified by public health authorities as harmful or potentially harmful. If the temperature is reduced to a level where tobacco or nicotine containing liquid is heated rather than burned, the smoke is removed.

What is Aerosol?

Aerosol is not associated with combustion. Smoke-free products, whilst not risk-free, have the potential to significantly reduce the average levels of harmful chemicals compared to cigarette smoke. Consumers typically use the term “vapor” to refer to the aerosol generated from heated tobacco products or other nicotine-containing products.

Quitting tobacco and nicotine altogether is the best choice for health. Existing tobacco control measures designed to discourage initiation and encourage cessation should continue.

However, despite these efforts, millions of people continue to smoke. Science-backed, smoke-free products can play a role in moving adults who would otherwise continue to smoke away from cigarettes. With the right regulatory encouragement and support from civil society, together we can deliver a smoke-free future more quickly than relying on traditional measures alone.

Sponsored by Philip Morris Management Services (Middle East) Limited