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The difference between cigarette smoke and smoke-free product vapor

Vapor vs. smoke

The vapor from a smoke-free product and the smoke from a cigarette and are two very different types of aerosol.

Smoke-free product vapor is produced when a user activates a smoke-free product such an e-cigarette, or a heated tobacco device by inhaling. It is not smoke, and does not contain solid particles.

Cigarette smoke is produced when tobacco is burned. It has high levels of harmful chemicals and contains solid particles.

By recognizing this fundamental difference, governments and regulators can help move adult smokers that don’t completely quit cigarettes and nicotine to better alternatives, thereby bringing forward a future without cigarettes.

Vapor vs. smoke

Cigarette smoke and smoke-free product vapor are fundamentally different.

Cigarette smoke is produced when tobacco is burned. The smoke contains solid particles. It also has high levels of harmful chemicals, many of which are considered the main cause of smoking related diseases.

Vapor is produced when a user activates a smoke free product like an e-cigarette or a heated tobacco device, by inhaling. It's not smoke because there is no burning involved and it doesn't contain solid particles. It should contain much lower levels of harmful chemicals compared to cigarette smoke.

Recognizing the fundamental difference between cigarettes and smoke-free alternatives would be a significant step toward a future without cigarettes.

Do heated tobacco products and vapes give off smoke?

No, heated tobacco products and vapes do not give off smoke.

What may appear to be smoke from a vape or heated tobacco product is actually an aerosol, which is a suspension of fine liquid and/or solid particles in a gas (usually air). Heated tobacco products and vapes do not emit smoke, as they have not burned the tobacco.

Cigarettes burn tobacco and create smoke, which is also an aerosol. However, the composition of the aerosol in smoke is very different from the aerosol from heated tobacco products and vapes, as smoke contains thousands of chemicals, of which around a hundred have been identified as harmful or potentially harmful.

Do PMI’s heated tobacco products and e-cigarettes create secondhand smoke?

No, they don’t. Secondhand smoke, also known as environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), is a combination of the smoke produced from the lit end of a cigarette and the smoke exhaled by smokers.

Public health authorities, including the WHO, have concluded that secondhand smoke causes diseases, including lung cancer and heart disease, in non-smokers.

However, as our better alternatives to smoking do not burn tobacco, tests have shown that PMI’s e-cigarette and heated tobacco products are not a source of ETS. Smoke-free products are not risk-free though, and the best choice is to quit tobacco and nicotine completely. Users of better alternatives to smoking should always remain mindful of using them around other people.