Heated Tobacco Products – are they safe alternative for traditional cigarettes?

Abstract

Heated Tobacco Products (HTPs), unlike traditional cigarettes, work by heating the tobacco instead of burning it. The aim of the study was to assess the acute health effects of short-term use of Heated Tobacco Products. The study protocol included 120 healthy people, with median age 24 [22;26] years, divided into 3 groups, equal by gender, according to their smoking status: 40 non-smokers (C), 40 traditional tobacco smokers (T) and 40 HTP users (H). Heart rate (HR), blood pressure (SBP/DBP), saturation, exhaled CO, exhaled NO, airway temperature and spirometry were measured before and right after use of HTP / cigarette or after a smoking simulation in case of the C-group. Both, HTPs and cigarettes cause significant increase in SBP, DBP and HR (p<0.05), opposite to the C-group, where mentioned parameters decreased (p<0.05). Exhaled FeNO decline was observed in the H group (13.1±5.9 to 11.4±5.4; p<0.05) and the T group (10.3±5.8 to 9.5±6.4, p=0.02). Exhaled CO increased significantly after the exposure to cigarettes and heated tobacco (from 6 [4;10] to 11 [8;15], p<0.05; from 4 [3;5] to 4[3;5,5], p=0.01, respectively) and the difference was significantly greater in the T group. There were no statistically significant changes in saturation, airway temperature and spirometry parameters in all three groups (p>0.05). The C-group did not differ in exhaled NO and CO before and after the smoking simulation (p=0.07; p=0.4). Heated Tobacco Products affect in acute effects on respiratory and cardiovascular system, as well as traditional cigarettes.