Heated tobacco products: a brief (2020)

Heated tobacco products (HTPs) are tobacco products that produce an emission containing nicotine and other chemicals, which is then inhaled by users. HTPs are a re-emerging class of tobacco products marketed as so-called potentially reduced-exposure products, or even as modified-risk tobacco products. Currently there is insufficient evidence to conclude that HTPs are less harmful than conventional cigarettes. In fact, there are concerns that while they may expose users to lower levels of some toxicants than conventional cigarettes, they also expose users to higher levels of other toxicants. It is not clear how this toxicological profile translates into short- and long-term health effects. The Conference of the Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) recognizes HTPs as tobacco products and therefore considers them to be subject to the provisions of the WHO FCTC.