Alternative paths to quitting explained

Not ready to quit all at once? Opt for heat tobacco and its alternatives

To quit smoking suddenly, without any support, could be overwhelming due to a variety of withdrawal symptoms that you might experience, such as nicotine cravings, as well as many other physical and psychological symptoms like appetite, fatigue, insomnia, irritation and anxiety, etc.

Even if you are able to overcome these withdrawal symptoms with strong willpower, there are many triggers around you, like routines and habits of smoking and situational or social factors associated with smoking that make you get the urge to smoke.

Due to these barriers, many smokers might give up or return to smoke when attempting to quit.

But don't worry. Suppose you are not ready to quit right away. In that case, there is another way out, which is to make a transition to tobacco substitutes, and then gradually cut down the use of traditional cigarettes until finally cutting out nicotine consumption.

Many tobacco substitutes are available on the market, including e-cigarettes, heat-not-burn products, oral nicotine and so on, which are classified as alternative nicotine ecosystems. 

Some alternative nicotine ecosystems aim to help smokers overcome their nicotine cravings while exposing them to lower levels of toxins that come with tobacco smoke.

Among these alternative nicotine products, e-cigarettes are the predominant option, while in recent years, heat-not-burn products have become another hot choice among smokers.

Being the latest innovation of alternative nicotine ecosystems, heat-not-burn products have gained more and more interest though they have not been prevalent for a very long time.

Today let's discuss this popular product category, the heat-not-burn products.

Heat-not-burn products help smokers overcome nicotine craving

Nicotine craving is considered as the key barrier of smoking cessation and a sign of a relapse.

 While nicotine is highly addictive and has some side effects, such as harming a developing brain, it is not recognized as a carcinogen and the primary cause of tobacco-related diseases or conditions like lung cancer, asthma, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and many more.

Instead, nicotine has been used as a medication to help with smoking cessation for many years, such as NRT (nicotine replacement therapy) smoking aid.

The NRT products consist of different licensed medicines that slowly deliver low and steady doses of nicotine to users so as to get them less addicted to nicotine while helping them combat their nicotine cravings during the quitting.

Likewise, heat-not-burn products satisfy smokers' needs for nicotine so that they help them to overcome their nicotine cravings when attempting to quit. However, when it comes to smoking habits, heat-not-burn products seem more acceptable.

Studies show that in addition to nicotine cravings, habit-related rituals of smoking are also hard to stop for most smokers, such as lighting up after a meal or the hand-to-mouth action. Smokers who get used to smoking rituals are likely to resist kicking the habit.

No worries. Heat-not-burn products come in to tackle this problem. By replicating the look, feel and use of conventional tobacco cigarettes, heat-not-burn products enable users to feel like smoking, enabling them to keep smoking-like rituals and sensations, which make the transition easier than other nicotine products.

Comparably, other nicotine products such as oral gums, chewing tobacco and the like deliver nicotine in ways that are distinguishable from tobacco cigarettes.

Heat-not-burn products don't involve combustion.

To keep good health is one of the most important factors that motivate smokers to stop smoking, as traditional cigarettes produce a huge amount of harmful chemicals when they are in use, which poses potential health risks.

 A regular cigarette is lit up with an open fire and burnt to an ultra-high temperature reaching 900°C. During the burning process, the tobacco releases nicotine-containing smoke that is sucked in by users.

 While here comes a problem: except for the nicotine that users need, the tobacco smoke and its by-products like tar and ash, also include various poisonous substances, such as carbon monoxide, arsenic, benzene and formaldehyde, which lead to preventable diseases and premature deaths.

 According to WHO, tobacco leads to more than 8 million deaths each year, among which more than 7 million of these deaths are due to direct tobacco use and about 1.2 million deaths are caused by secondhand smoke.

In contrast to tobacco cigarettes, heat-not-burn products are heated with an electronic device to a relatively lower temperature at around 350°C to generate a nicotine-containing or nicotine-free aerosol that users breathe in.

No burning or combustion is involved during the use and hence no tobacco smoke and its residues are produced.

 As a result, by transferring to heat-not-burn products, users can enjoy the nicotine hits and smoking-like feeling and rituals while keeping away from the toxic chemicals linked with tobacco smoke.

The heat-not-burn technique is first used in heated tobacco sticks. It has become well known since 2014, when PMI launched its IQOS heated tobacco devices in Japan.

The IQOS soon swept the market and have been spread around the world. By far, it has covered more than 60 markets.

Following the trend of IQOS, a number of other heated tobacco stick brands have also entered on the market, such as Ploom TECH from JT group, Glo by British American Tobacco, Pulze from Imperial Brands and so on, making heated tobacco prevalent even further.

Besides, some players move a step forward by using heat-not-burn heating devices to heat non-tobacco materials, like herbal heat sticks.

Heated tobacco vs its alternatives

Heat-not-burn products are popularly known as heated tobacco sticks and heated tobacco alternatives. The latter predominantly comes with herbal heat sticks.

Heated tobacco sticks use an electronic heating control system to heat, rather than burning compressed tobacco leaves to deliver a nicotine-contained aerosol that users inhale.

Though heated tobacco sticks might taste a bit lighter than conventional cigarettes, they are ideal for those who enjoy an original tobacco taste and smoking rituals while not wanting the harmful tobacco smoke in their lungs.

On the other hand, heated tobacco alternatives mimic heated tobacco in look and feel while replacing tobacco with herbals as their base.

Herbal heat sticks commonly consist of such ingredients as tea leaves, nicotine, natural herbs, vegetable glycerin, propylene glycol and flavorings, though some might not contain nicotine.

Herbal heat sticks deliver an authentic nicotine hit and sensations similar to heat tobacco, while they are richer in taste than the latter, bringing users enjoyable experiences.

Furthermore, as herbal heat sticks don't contain tobacco, they are free of the harsh odor and unpleasant off-taste that exist in tobacco products.

There are a variety of herbal heat stick brands available on the market, including NEAFS, CCOBATO, Unicco, and others.

For instance, NEAFS is a popular brand based in Europe and the only one that passed the MHRA in the UK. NEAFS sticks use tea leaves as its base materials, which is gently steeped into natural herbs, nicotine, vegetable glycerin, propylene glycol and flavorings.

NEAFS comes in its 6-flavor palette, including tobacco original, blueberry, coffee, mojito, strawberry and coffee, which are suitable for those who look for something refreshing or aromatic.

For those who favor tobacco taste, NEAFS Original (tobacco) 1.5% nicotine sticks would be a good option.

NEAFS original flavor offers a realistic classic Virginia tobacco taste without harmful chemicals or any aftertaste. Making tobacco taste sticks without using tobacco is a major selling point of this product.

In conclusion

Heated tobacco products and their alternatives are designed to help smokers who intend to quit manage their nicotine cravings so that they can move to a smoke-free future more easily and smoothly compared with abrupt stopping, which could lead to severe withdrawal symptoms.

Keep in mind that these alternative products to tobacco cigarettes are not the end, and they are just the beginning place where you get on the journey to quit. Quitting tobacco cigarettes and nicotine entirely is always the best choice for your health.