Mainstream or sidestream?
In the context of aerosol science, mainstream refers to the aerosol that is directly inhaled by users of our products.
Mainstream smoke in cigarettes is inhaled through the filter end of the cigarette, while sidestream smoke is what materializes from the lit end of a cigarette when no one is puffing on it.
What is environmental tobacco smoke (ETS)?
Secondhand smoke, also known as environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), is a combination of sidestream smoke and the smoke exhaled by smokers. Passive smoking means that people are exposed to ETS even if they themselves do not smoke.
Environmental tobacco smoke impacts indoor air quality
Public health authorities, including the WHO, have concluded that secondhand smoke causes diseases, including lung cancer and heart disease, in non-smoking adults, as well as conditions in children such as asthma, respiratory infections, coughing, wheezing, otitis media (middle ear infection), and sudden infant death syndrome. In addition, public health officials have concluded that secondhand smoke can exacerbate adult asthma and cause eye, throat, and nasal irritation.
Some of the pollutants of environmental tobacco smoke come from cigarettes or other combustible tobacco products (nicotine, 3-ethenylpyridine and solanesol for example) – while additional pollutants can also come from other sources (carbon monoxide/CO, benzene, toluene, carbonyls, to mention just a few).
Do our smoke-free products emit ETS? What is their impact on indoor air quality?
Our tested smoke-free products, the Tobacco Heating System (THS) and the MESH Vaping System (MVS), are not a source of ETS. Their aerosols are mainly composed of water, glycerin and nicotine and out of six ETS markers, only nicotine could be found in a room where these products were used. In order to evaluate our smoke-free products’ effect on indoor air quality, we systematically perform experiments in our test room, discuss the results and share them at conferences.
