Comparison of the effects of three types of heating tobacco system and conventional cigarettes on indoor air quality

Abstract

Abstract Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) from conventional cigarettes is reported to affect indoor air quality (IAQ) in various real indoor environments. Recently, Japan Tobacco Inc. introduced three types of tobacco product that are heated rather than combusted. These comprise one direct heating tobacco system and two in-direct heating tobacco systems. In this study, the impact of using these products on IAQ was evaluated in an environmentally controlled chamber. Two environmental conditions, simulating restaurant and residential spaces, were examined. Under the same conditions, cigarette smoking and the presence of people only were used as positive and negative controls, respectively. The indoor air concentrations of 48 constituents (tobacco-specific nitrosamines, carbonyls, volatile organic compounds, total volatile organic compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, polycyclic aromatic amines, mercury, metals, ETS markers, propylene glycol, glycerol, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, suspended particle matter, ammonia, and nitrogen oxides) were measured. Compared with the presence of people, the concentrations of some constituents were actually increased when using heating tobacco products under both environmental conditions, simulating restaurant and residential spaces. However, the constituent concentrations were lower than those obtained by cigarette smoking, except for propylene glycol and glycerol, and below the exposure limits for constituents in air, as defined by air quality guidelines or regulations. Based on these data, the use of heating tobacco systems in appropriate indoor environments has less impacts compared to conventional cigarettes. Article Highlights We measured the indoor air concentrations of chemical constituents generated when using three heating tobacco systems with different heating mechanisms in two environment conditions simulating restaurant and residential spaces (positive control: when smoking cigarettes, negative control: the presence of people only). In the measurement and analysis method used this study, it was possible to find not only that the air concentration generated when using the heating tobacco systems in this study were considerably lower than that when smoking cigarettes, but also the differences of the concentrations between heating tobacco systems with different heating mechanisms. We showed some constituents which actually increased the air concentrations when using heating tobacco systems compared with the presence of people only.