Polish scientists test tobacco smoke safety

Photo: Flickr.com/Vaping360

“People have always smoked, smoke today, and will continue to smoke,” said Joanna Szczepanowska of the Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, which is conducting the study.

“If the institute can contribute to people opting for a less harmful way of smoking, this research is worthwhile,” she said.

Mariusz Więckowski, another Nencki Institute scientist, said researchers are capturing substances as they are released from heated or burned tobacco to then dissolve them and test their effect on cells.

The effect of the substances on the cells can be translated to their effects on a smoker, Więckowski said.

“If it turns out that [cells] are functioning better than in the case of traditional cigarettes, then a smoker who is using new technologies that heat tobacco can be less exposed to the harmful effects of the toxic substance,” Więckowski said.

Traditional cigarettes burn at 800 degrees Celsius, while “heat not burn” technologies, such as Marlboro’s smokeless IQOS cigarette, heats tobacco to about 280 degrees.

The IQCS “uses real tobacco refills, but instead of burning it to produce hazardous smoke and tar, it heats it to produce tobacco-flavored vapor,” electronic cigarette review site Vape Ranks said. (vb/pk)

Source: PAP, vaperanks.com