A clinical
study conducted by scientists at British American Tobacco have revealed that
when smokers switch completely from cigarettes to glo, their exposure to
certain cigarette smoke toxicants is significantly reduced, in some cases to
levels comparable to those seen in smokers who quit smoking completely.
These
results add to evidence suggesting that glo may have the potential to be
substantially reduced risk compared to smoking conventional cigarettes.
Glo is a
tobacco heating product (THP) designed to heat rather than burn tobacco. This
means it does not produce smoke and certain toxicants associated with tobacco
combustion are substantially reduced. Previous studies revealed toxicant levels
in the heated tobacco vapour from glo to be around 90-95% less than in
cigarette smoke.
“Products
like glo are very new and consumers and regulators alike understandably want as
much information as possible about them. Understanding how vapour from glo
compares to cigarette smoke is, therefore, a core component of our scientific
research,†said Dr James Murphy, Head of Reduced Risk Substantiation at British
American Tobacco. “Clinical studies, which are studies involving real people,
are an extremely important component of that,†he said.
Because glo
vapor has lower levels of toxicants than cigarette smoke, it should in
principle expose consumers to much less toxicants. The results of this study
indicate that this is indeed the case. The results are presented today at the
annual conference of the Society for Nicotine and Tobacco Research in
Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Clinical Study
This
clinical study was conducted in Japan because THPs like glo are popular there.
One hundred and eighty people participated in the study, which was conducted
over a period of eight days in a clinic. They were all smokers for at least
three years prior to enrolment.
For the
first two days, study participants continued to smoke as normal and their urine
was collected to measure levels of chemicals. Blood and breath were also
collected for analysis.
For the next
five days, participants were randomly allocated to either continue smoking,
switch to using a THP or quit smoking. Urine, blood and breath samples were
again collected for analysis.
Exposure to
certain smoke toxicants was determined by measuring the levels of certain
chemicals in the urine. These could be the toxicants themselves or their metabolites
– which is what the body breaks it down into – called biomarkers of exposure.
Toxicants measured included those identified by the World Health Organisation
as being of concern in cigarette smoke.
The results
show that the concentration of certain chemicals in the urine was reduced in
smokers who switched to glo. In some cases, these reductions were the same as
those in smokers who quit (Figure 1). This suggests that smokers who switched
to glo were exposed to less toxicants – in some cases, their exposure was the
same as smokers who quit altogether.
“These
results are very encouraging,†explains Murphy. “The next step will be to
determine whether this reduction in exposure translates to a reduced biological
effect, and in turn a reduction in adverse health effects for those smokers who
switch completely to glo,†he said.
Future
clinical studies will test for markers of biological effect, like cholesterol
levels or heart rate (i.e. measurements that give an indication of general
health). A reduction in biomarkers of biological effect could suggest that a
reduction in exposure is having a positive impact on reducing the adverse
health risks of smokers who switch completely.
“The results
of one test are important,†said Murphy, “but it is the combination of the
results of many different tests that start to give us a real feel for the
bigger picture and the potential for glo to be reduced risk compared to a
conventional cigarette.â€
British
American Tobacco has invested more than US$2.5 billion over the last six years
in developing and commercialising a world-leading portfolio of products in the
Next Generation Products (NGPs) category. British American Tobacco currently
has NGPs in 17 markets with plans to be double the amount of markets we’re in
by the end of 2018. BAT has a bold ambition to realise revenue of more than
£5bn from NGPs by 2022.
.png)
.jpg)
.gif)
