Planning Past Cigarettes

Tobacco companies have been developing next-generation products, including vaping and heat-not-burn products.

September 20, 2017

NEW YORK CITY – As more states raise the tobacco-buying age and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) lowers nicotine levels in cigarettes, CNBC reports that the future of Big Tobacco is a hot topic.

Here’s a rundown on next-generation products from Big Tobacco.

IQOS. Philip Morris International’s IQOS heats tobacco sticks. “We can have a product that reduces risk by 95%, but if no one accepts that product or likes that, it won't have any impact on public health,” said Mikael Franzon, senior medical advisor for Philip Morris. The company has asked the FDA to review two applications: one to sell it in the United States, the other to market it as reducing risk compared with cigarettes. Philip Morris is also testing TEEPS, a similar heat-not-burn product.

MESH and STEEM. MESH, which Philip Morris tested in the United Kingdom last year as a next-generation electronic cigarette, has a heating system and liquid nicotine and flavors. The device creates a vapor. STEEM also creates a vapor from nicotine in the form of liquid salt. Philip Morris will start testing STEEM later this year.

Mark Ten and Green Smoke. These Altria products are electronic cigarette cartridges that look like traditional cigarettes. “We have the leading brands in all traditional tobacco products, so we have a deep understanding of adult smokers, and we're building our learning over decades of experience to build products we think adult smokers will be interested in,” said an Altria spokesman.

Vype. British American Tobacco’s (BAT) e-cig now has several product lines of sleek pens to compact pebbles. BAT has around 40% of the U.K. vapor market and is in 10 markets around the world.

Glo. BAT’s heat-not-burn product debuted in Japan in 2016. The device heats the tobacco stick, which releases a vapor. Glo is in three Japanese markets, plus one Canadian market, Korea and Switzerland.

Vuse. R.J. Reynolds Vapor has the Vuse brand e-cigs of cartridges and liquid nicotine. Both the Vuse Connect and Vuse Fob devices use Bluetooth technology to synch with an app to help users stay up-to-date on charging or refilling the device.

Vapeleaf. Japan Tobacco’s subsidiary Logic created Vapeleaf, a combination of an e-cig and a heat-not-burn product. Vapeleaf has a limited presence in the United States. “Early indications show that both retailers and consumers are excited about the product and we are optimistic about its future in the [U.S.],” said a spokesman.

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