For many generations, tobacco has played a special role in our society. After Columbus discovered America in 1492, tobacco and related products found their way to Europe. Over the years, tobacco has been awarded various qualities. The medical world lived on the assumption that tobacco had a medical effect. It was long maintained that tobacco had a beneficial effect on users’ moods. However, since the late 1970s of the twentieth century it has become clear that tobacco, with all its biochemical components, also has a detrimental effect on the overall health (SNT,2017).
However we do not live in the 70’s anymore. We now live in the era of digitalization and technology and the tobacco industry has made acquaintance with technology itself. This is where IQOS, a new type of smokeless cigarette of Phillip Morris, comes in the picture. Under the lead of Phillip Morris International, a leading international tobacco company, IQOS is the product that offers smokers a better choice. It is a smokeless cigarette that has been described as a hybrid between analogs and electronic cigarette. The smoker still smokes tobacco to get nicotine but instead of burning the tobacco, it is being heated. IQOS with its heat control technology, heats the tobacco just enough to release a flavourful nicotine-containing vapor but without the burning tobacco. Because the tobacco is heated and not burned, the levels of harmful chemicals are significantly reduced compared to cigarette smoke. According to the company’s own research, the cigarette contains 90 percent less harmful substances than a normal cigarette (Phillip Morris, 2017).
This could perhaps be the future of smoking. But is the IQOS actually less harmful than a traditional cigarette? Some physicians think otherwise. Wanda, for example who is a well-known pulmonary physician in the Netherlands claims that all the carcinogens contained in the cigarette are also included here. Cancer develops slowly. It is impossible for the manufacturer to know if this IQOS phenomenon is less cancer-causing. It also took years before its became clear that tobacco was harmful for the health (Kanter, 2017).
Do you think that Phillip Morris International will save the human race from the harmful substances of traditional cigarettes? Or do you think the company is just in it for the money? Hit the subscribe button if you liked this article or comment below.
References:
Stichting Nederlands Tabakhistorie (2017). Tobacco in The Netherlands. http://www.tabakshistorie.nl/nl/tabakshistorie/tabak-in-nederland/19/
Phillip Morris (2017). IQOS. https://www.pmi.com/smoke-free-products/iqos-our-tobacco-heating-system
Kanter, W. (2017). Nieuwe ‘gezonde’ sigaret te koop: Trap niet in dit reclamepraatje?
https://www.rtlnieuws.nl/gezondheid/nieuwe-gezonde-sigaret-te-koop-trap-niet-in-dit-reclamepraatje
