Electronic cigarettes are the future of smoking. Vaporizers filled with liquid aroused the first wave of interest, but interest in them is currently decreasing. In some countries, there has been a restriction in legislation (eg Thailand is punishing these by prison time), and health effects are being questioned. Despite this, the estimated revenue is about $ 5 billion a year.
The e-cigarette is burning the tobacco industry
Although e-cigarettes produce demonstrably minimal toxic chemicals compared to burning cigarettes and are significantly cheaper to use, they have a few mistakes and do not provide the user with the same smoking experience. Heating liquids is less convenient, requires daily care, and most smokers lack the resulting smoke experience. Manufacturers responded to this by increasing the volume of steam, which, together with the smell of hundreds of flavors, makes it extremely annoying to their surroundings.
Marijuana vaporizer comes to the rescue
Especially for marijuana users, a group of enthusiasts in Ireland has developed a solid-particle vaporizer, heating crushed herbs or tobacco instead of liquid in a small container. By heating the reservoir to 482 - 662 °F, flavor or nicotine is released for inhalation. Not only drugs but also medicinal herbs such as chamomile or lemon balm can be inhaled.
After years of experimenting, cigarette manufacturers started looking for alternative sources of income, tobacco vaping has emerged and proved to be the way to meet increasingly stringent health standards and improve manufacturers reputation without their business disappearing. Philip Morris International and British American Tobacco have developed this technology for daily usability by investing billions of dollars and have launched IQOS and competitive GLO.
IQOS vs. GLO, heat at the end of the tunnel
IQOS and GLO are very similar and differ only in technical design. Tobacco does not burn but heats special tobacco refills similar to cigarettes in which water vapor is generated from glycerin at 536 - 662 °F and carries the released nicotine from the tobacco mixture into your lungs. Both IQOS and GLO meet the main goals, according to studies, when the tobacco is heated, it is up to 95% less harmful than burning, the smoker has a very similar experience and the manufacturer will continue to earn the same money as with cigarettes.
Both IQOS and GLO are up to 95% less harmful than cigarettes and at the same time forcing the smoker to buy refills at the price of cigarettes. Everyone becomes satisfied.
Tobacco heating is promoted as less harmful smoking, but in most countries, it is seen as smoking tobacco and is burdened with similar excise duties. Both manufacturers have a long way to go to demonstrate low health deficits, which will be all the more difficult because they are very unreliable after they had been supporting standard smoking for many years.
IQOS was the first, now it stumps competition to the ground
Philip Morris International (PMI) was the first to come to market with its IQOS, stating that they have invested up to $ 3 billion in its development, and continues to push it with a massive campaign. Sales began with great success in Japan, later in Switzerland, Italy, Russia and today, IQOS is being sold in more than 24 countries, and will soon start to be sold in other, eg USA. The British government even recommended IQOS as a replacement for cigarettes.
What is IQOS and how does it work
The IQOS comes as two separate devices, the charger is used to charge the holder, whereas HEETS is inserted in the holder that heats them up for smoking (HEETS are tobacco units, formerly known as Marlboro for IQOS or Parliament). HEETS (list of all types of HEETS) contain glycerin-impregnated tobacco, that when pressed onto the blade are heated from the inside at 662 °F. After the cartridge is finished, the holder returns to the charger is ready for use after 4 minutes.
GLO is behind in sales and in user experience
British American Tobacco (BAT) wanted to explore a different way, experimenting with many variations. They have a common electronic cigarette iFuse on the market, filled with a liquid mixture of glycerine and tobacco, which, however, could not succeed due to a massive amount of Chinese competitors.
Therefore, they have introduced GLO vaporizer to a few markets, and it's working on the same principle as IQOS. GLO looks pretty much like a larger electronic cigarette. KENT cartridges are also a mixture of tobacco and glycerin, as large as a slim cigarette, inserted directly into the heater in the size of a pack of cigarettes and heated from outside at a temperature of 536 °F. According to the users, the steam release is less effective, uninteresting and they report worse experience, on the other hand, GLO does not need to be cleaned regularly as IQOS in which tobacco fragments remain.
GLO is big and heavy, lasts longer charged and doesn't have to be cleaned that much, but the smoke experience is, according to many of our Facebook group fans, better with IQOS.
BAT has so far invested significantly less in GLO expansion into the world.
The future of smoking is smoke-less
This is the future. Japan Tobacco develops its own Ploom Tech, Reynolds American has the most successful e-cigarette Vuse (36% of the US market) and attempts to improve its failed Eclipse in collaboration with BAT under the name Revo, in which tobacco in a disposable cigarette that would be heated by lighting up the carbon tip with a lighter. Philips Morris has a similar product, we have written about TEEPS, it is very similar to a standard cigarette.