Heated tobacco varieties and heated tobacco comparisons

Heated tobacco products are an innovative alternative for adults who would otherwise continue to smoke or use other nicotine products. Heat-not-burn products heat tobacco instead of burning it in order to release heated tobacco flavors. Our heat-not-burn product IQOS delivers a high quality tobacco experience for IQOS legal age users with no fire, no ash and with less smell than cigarettes. However, IQOS is not risk-free. 

Heated tobacco products come in over a dozen different varieties. Read on to find out what these are and how they compare to one another.   

What are the different types of heated tobacco?

Amongst the heated tobacco variety, IQOS is the #1 tobacco heating system.* At the heart of our most advanced smoke-free product are sophisticated electronics that heat specially designed heated tobacco sticks called HEETS (or Heatsticks in Japan). Thanks to its patented HeatControl™ Technology, IQOS heats the tobacco just enough to release a nicotine-containing vapor but without burning the tobacco.  

However, we didn’t stop there. Through intensive research and development, we’ve succeeded in creating another breakthrough heated tobacco product called TEEPS. Just like IQOS, TEEPS releases flavors and nicotine without combustion. Instead, it heats the tobacco with a pressed carbon heat-source that is separated from the tobacco and, using the same patented HeatControl™ Technology, provides an effective and controlled temperature transfer to release the tobacco’s true taste and experience. 

*PMI global estimate of total In-Market Sales of Heated Tobacco Units as of June 2023. 

What are the different types of heated tobacco flavors?

The specially designed tobacco sticks for heating used exclusively with IQOS devices are called HEETS. Carefully crafted for IQOS legal age users’ experience, each HEETS stick requires meticulous care, attention and expertise.  

The journey to offering IQOS legal age users this experience has a lot of tiny steps. It begins with farmers from all around the world who care deeply for their crop. Next, our master blenders sample the tobacco, selecting the best tobacco origins and qualities and paying special attention to aroma and taste profiles (e.g. richness, ripeness, strength). Finally, our tobacco blenders create the blends of HEETS for IQOS legal age users. 

A modern twist on tobacco classics, HEETS offer a range of taste experiences from rich to refined, including tobacco with menthol and new aromatic blends to suit every taste palate. Thus, IQOS users can try out and compare heated tobacco flavors in order to find their perfect match. HEETS are not risk-free and are addictive. 

We know that IQOS legal age users love to explore new tastes. That’s why with HEETS we are building a universe where there is always another heated tobacco flavor, another taste experience to discover and where many unexplored dimensions of taste are waiting for IQOS legal age users. Our Flavor Advisor can help IQOS legal age users discover the HEETS flavor that matches their taste. 

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: IQOS IS NOT RISK-FREE AND IS ADDICTIVE. 

What is the difference between heated tobacco and e-cigarettes?

Although both heat-not-burn devices and e-cigarettes are smoke-free alternatives to smoking, there are important differences when it comes to comparing heated tobacco products with e-cigarettes. 

E-cigarettes don’t contain tobacco. Instead, they heat an e-liquid containing nicotine and flavors to produce an aerosol, what people usually call a vapor – hence the term “vaping”. 

What’s more, in heated tobacco products, nicotine is naturally present in the tobacco used in the product. In comparison, in e-cigarettes, nicotine derived from tobacco is added to the e-liquid used in the product.  

What is the difference between heated tobacco and vaping?

Vaping is the act of inhaling and exhaling the aerosol, often referred to as vapor, which is produced by an e-cigarette or similar device. The term is used because these devices do not produce tobacco smoke, but rather an aerosol.  

Explore our heated tobacco flavors.