IQOS, Vape, Cigar & Pipe: How to Use

IQOS, Glo and Heated Tobacco Products: How They Work

Heated tobacco products like IQOS (Philip Morris) and Glo (British American Tobacco) heat specially designed tobacco sticks to around 350 °C instead of burning them. The manufacturers’ promise: fewer harmful substances than conventional cigarettes.

• 1IQOS uses so-called HEETS (or TEREA in newer models), which are inserted into the device and heated from inside.
• 2Glo works on a similar principle with Neo sticks. The device heats the tobacco from the outside.
• 3According to Germany’s Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), heated tobacco aerosols contain fewer combustion toxins – but they are far from harmless. Nicotine, formaldehyde and acetaldehyde remain detectable.
• 4The WHO explicitly warns: heated tobacco products are not safe alternatives to smoking. They are equally addictive and can damage the lungs.

Vape and E-Cigarette Technology

E-cigarettes (vapes) vaporise a nicotine-containing liquid using an electrically heated coil. Unlike heated tobacco products, no tobacco is involved – instead, propylene glycol, vegetable glycerine, flavourings and nicotine are heated.

• ✓A battery powers a coil that heats the liquid to 200–300 °C. The resulting vapour is inhaled.
• ✓Closed systems (e.g. JUUL, Elfbar) use pre-filled or disposable pods. Open systems allow manual refilling.
• ✓The BfR considers e-cigarettes less harmful than tobacco cigarettes – but emphasises that long-term studies are lacking.
• ✓Nicotine salts in modern pods enable very fast nicotine absorption – which increases addiction potential.

Cigars and Pipes: The Right Technique

Cigars and pipes are often seen as a “more elegant” form of smoking. But the same rule applies: the smoke contains the same carcinogens as cigarette smoke.

• ●Cigars are traditionally not inhaled but “puffed.” Nevertheless, toxins enter the bloodstream through the oral mucosa, and the cancer risk is significantly elevated.
• ●Pipe smokers also inhale harmful substances. The cooler smoke creates a misleading sense of safety.
• ●According to the WHO, there is no safe form of tobacco consumption – neither cigars nor pipes are “healthier” alternatives.

Activated Charcoal Filters When Smoking

Activated charcoal filters are commonly used when rolling cigarettes or consuming herbal blends. They promise to filter toxins from the smoke.

• ✓Activated charcoal can partially adsorb certain gaseous compounds such as formaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide.
• ✓Fine particulate matter, tar and most carcinogens are only minimally reduced by activated charcoal filters.
• ✓The BfR clarifies: activated charcoal filters do not make smoking safe. The reduction in harmful substances is too low to meaningfully lower health risks.

Blue Lotus and Exotic Smoking Blends

Blue lotus (Nymphaea caerulea), damiana, skullcap and other herbs are marketed in various smoking blends as “natural” alternatives. But “natural” does not mean “safe.”

• 1Blue lotus contains the psychoactive alkaloids nuciferine and aporphine. The effect is described as mildly sedating and euphoric.
• 2There are no controlled clinical studies on the safety of smoking blue lotus.
• 3When plant material is burned, the same toxins are produced as with tobacco smoke: tar, carbon monoxide and carcinogens.
• 4Exotic smoking blends are often unregulated. Contamination, pesticides and undeclared additives are a real risk.

The WHO recommends against smoking any substance whose safety profile has not been established by clinical studies. “Natural” is not a synonym for “safe.”

Frequently Asked Questions