Our scientific assessment journey
The science behind IQOS

Our scientific assessment journey
Do the significantly lower number and levels of harmful substances in IQOS tobacco vapor also mean lower levels of such substances in the body? If you reduce the level of harmful substances in IQOS tobacco vapor, it would make sense that switching completely to IQOS from cigarettes reduces exposure to these harmful substances. To prove this, we measured biomarkers of exposure for a number of these harmful substances in thousands of smokers who participated in our clinical study program (some switched to IQOS, while others either continued smoking their cigarette brand or quit for the duration of the study).
LEARN MOREDo the significantly lower number and levels of harmful substances in IQOS tobacco vapor also mean lower levels of such substances in the body? If you reduce the level of harmful substances in IQOS tobacco vapor, it would make sense that switching completely to IQOS from cigarettes reduces exposure to these harmful substances. To prove this, we measured biomarkers of exposure for a number of these harmful substances in thousands of smokers who participated in our clinical study program (some switched to IQOS, while others either continued smoking their cigarette brand or quit for the duration of the study).
LEARN MOREOnce IQOS is available in the market, the research moves from being conducted in a pre-market setting to a real-world post-market setting. There, we look at how the product is being used and by whom in order to complement our pre-market findings and to do our best to identify and prevent use or uptake by unintended audiences. After years of commercialization in many countries, the available data confirms our pre-market observations, in particular in terms of IQOS’ appeal to adult smokers and the relative lack of interest in former and never smokers.
DISCOVEROnce IQOS is available in the market, the research moves from being conducted in a pre-market setting to a real-world post-market setting. There, we look at how the product is being used and by whom in order to complement our pre-market findings and to do our best to identify and prevent use or uptake by unintended audiences. After years of commercialization in many countries, the available data confirms our pre-market observations, in particular in terms of IQOS’ appeal to adult smokers and the relative lack of interest in former and never smokers.
DISCOVERWe also monitor reports of health effects now that the product is used by millions of adult users. Long-term studies will eventually help us to evaluate the potential disease–specific risk reduction of IQOS. Gathering data to answer this question takes time, but it’s the right choice. So far, all the data we’ve seen points in the right direction.