Preliminary study on the effect of using heat-not-burn tobacco products on indoor air quality

Abstract

In this study, the effect of the use of heat-not-burn (HnB) products on indoor air quality (IAQ) was evaluated. To do this, the concentrations of nicotine, propylene glycol (PG), and vegetable glycerin (VG) directly emitted when using HnB products were analyzed and compared to those from conventional cigarettes. Furthermore, the levels of VOCs, aldehydes, nanoparticle, and particulate matter (PM) detected when subjects used HnB products in the exposure chamber were evaluated the effect on IAQ. As a result, the range of nicotine levels transferred by HnB products (0.8–1.2 mg cigarette−1) is lower than that by conventional cigarettes (2.4–3.6 mg cigarette−1). On the other hand, the range of VG levels emitted from HnB products (3.1–5.9 mg cigarette−1) were higher than that emitted from conventional cigarettes (0.6–3.0 mg cigarette−1). In addition, although the amount generated from HnB products was small compared to those from conventional cigarettes, various kinds of VOCs, aldehydes, nanoparticle and PM were produced, and these were confirmed to affect IAQ.