Method for generating and testing aerosol from THS

Cigarette smoke is produced when the tobacco in a cigarette burns at temperatures in excess of 600°C. At such high temperatures, the tobacco is burned to ash and generates smoke that contains thousands of chemicals,[1] including high levels of harmful and potentially harmful constituents (HPHCs) which are widely recognized to be the most likely causes of smoking-related diseases.[2]

The Tobacco Heating System (THS, marketed as IQOS), on the other hand, heats tobacco without burning it (combusting) to generate a nicotine-containing aerosol with significantly lower levels of HPHCs.[3] Because it is an electronic device, and because it generates an aerosol that is fundamentally different from cigarette smoke,[4] some of the standard methods used to assess cigarettes cannot be applied and do not produce accurate measurements of certain aerosol constituents absent modification. You can download the full methodology which provides a detailed description of these modifications and step by step instructions for collecting the aerosol of THS using a commercial linear smoking machine.

Procedures:

Procedure for Generation and Testing of Mainstream Tobacco Heating System (THS or IQOS) Aerosol Using a Linear Smoking Machine

Procedure for Accurately Quantify Water in Mainstream Aerosol of the Tobacco Heating System (THS or IQOS) Using the in Situ Extraction Method

[1] Rodgman, A., Perfetti, T.A., The Chemical Components of Tobacco and Tobacco Smoke, CRC Press, Boca Raton (2013).

[2] Read How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease: The Biology and Behavioral Basis for Smoking-Attributable Disease: A Report of the Surgeon General.

[3] For further information regarding the absence of combustion involved in the IQOS system, please click here.

[4] For example, the IQOS aerosol contains about 80% water, whereas cigarette smoke contains only about 10% water.