What is heated tobacco?
The idea of heating tobacco – instead of burning it – has been around for some time. After years of research and development at Philip Morris International (PMI), our parent company, it has finally come to life, offering our innovative alternative to traditional cigarettes for adults who would otherwise continue to smoke or use other nicotine products.
A cigarette has to be lit on fire in order to be smoked. It burns at 600°C at the tip of the cigarette but can reach above 800°C during a puff.
On the contrary, PMI’s heat-not-burn device IQOS carefully heats up – but never burns – tobacco at temperatures of up to 350°C, releasing tobacco flavour with no fire, no ash and no smoke. Another advantage of IQOS is that since it does not produce smoke smell like cigarettes, it is less likely to bother people around you.
What are heated tobacco products?
Heated tobacco products, or heat-not-burn products, do exactly what their name suggests: they heat tobacco instead of burning it.
IQOS is the number one heated tobacco product in the world*. Equipped with innovative HeatControl™ Technology, IQOS heats tobacco up to 350°C without burning it. This delivers a high-quality tobacco experience, without any fire or ash and with less lingering smoke smell on your hands, hair and clothes than cigarettes.
*Source: PMI global estimate of total In-Market Sales of Heated Tobacco Units as of December 2019 (excluding China and US).
IQOS heat-not-burn devices
Currently, there are two IQOS devices available in two different versions:
- The first version has two main components – a holder and a charger.
- The second version is an integrated, all-in-one device which combines the holder and the charger.
Within the first category is our most advanced IQOS device yet, the IQOS 3 DUO. The IQOS 3 DUO holder provides the ability to use two HEETS back-to-back without the need to recharge the holder and 20 HEETS overall before the need to recharge the pocket charger. It is equipped with our fastest charging holder to date (only 1 minute and 50 seconds to the first use) and comes with over 1000 customization options thanks to our wide range of IQOS accessories.
Within the second category, the IQOS 3 Multi, is an integrated product that combines the holder and charger. The all-in-one pocket size device offers the ability to use 10 back-to-back HEETS before needing to recharge. It’s lightweight and portable with a wide range of customization options which help IQOS legal age users make it uniquely theirs.
How do IQOS heat-not-burn devices work?
All IQOS heat-not-burn devices work in the same way: first, insert the HEETS stick into the holder. Next, push a button to turn on the heater and then draw on the heated tobacco stick. Once the HEETS stick is finished (after about 14 puffs, roughly the same as a cigarette), simply remove it from the holder and dispose of it.
Our commitment to high quality
Providing IQOS legal age users with a high-quality smoke-free tobacco experience is our key focus. The way we prepare tobacco is what makes the difference. The tobacco inside every HEETS is specially prepared using a unique patented processing method called ‘cast leave process,’ necessary to optimize the tobacco for heating. In this process, tobacco leaves of the highest quality are ground into a powder and then reconstituted into tobacco sheets. These sheets are then crimped and made into a tobacco plug which, when combined with all the other parts, creates a HEETS stick.
HEETS tobacco sticks for IQOS devices provide taste experience close to a cigarette and come in different tobacco flavours ranging from rich to refined.
Explore the IQOS 3 DUO Device.