BAT.com

Science Innovation

Vapour

 

Vapour products are battery-powered devices that heat e-liquids to produce an inhalable aerosol, commonly known as vapour. Although e-liquids usually contain nicotine, there is no tobacco in vapour products.

 

Our Vuse™ range of vapour products accommodate the breadth of consumer preferences. Vuse™ e-liquids contain water, propylene glycol and glycerol, flavourings, and nicotine.

 

Vuse™ e-liquids only use high-quality ingredients which are crafted by expert flavour scientists. Oils containing THC, Diacetyl and Vitamin E Acetate are not, and have never been, added to Vuse products.

Watch:

Vuse Cross-Sectional Study

Science

 

Scientific summary for BAT vapour products:

  • They produce 99% less toxicants, compared to cigarette smoke.1
  • They don’t cause DNA mutations or promote cancer in laboratory cell tests, unlike cigarette smoke.2,3
  • And adult consumers of BAT’s vapour products have shown better results for biomarkers of potential harm compared to smokers.4

References

  1. 1. Comparison with smoke from a scientific standard reference cigarette (approximately 9mg of tar) in terms of the average of the 9 harmful components the World Health Organisation recommends to reduce in cigarette smoke.
  2. 2. Thorne, D., Crooks, I., Hollings, M., Seymour, A., Meredith, C., Gaҫa, M. The mutagenic assessment of an electronic-cigarette and reference cigarette smoke using the Ames assay in strains TA98 and TA100. Mutation Research 2016, 812; 29-38
  3. 3. Breheny, D.,  Oke, O., Pant, K. & Gaça, M.D. Comparative tumor promotion assessment of e‐cigarette and cigarettes using the in vitro Bhas 42 cell transformation assay. Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis, 2017, Volume 58, Issue 4 p. 190-198 https://doi.org/10.1002/em.22091
  4. 4. Haswell, L.E., Gale, N., Brown, E. et al. Biomarkers of exposure and potential harm in exclusive users of electronic cigarettes and current, former, and never smokers. Intern Emerg Med 18, 1359–1371 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11739-023-03294-9

Heated Products

 

Heated Products comprise of two main functional parts: an electronic handheld device that contains a lithium-ion battery that powers a heating chamber; and a specially designed consumable that is inserted into the device. Everything has been designed so that nicotine and flavour are released through precision heating.

 

The latest glo™ devices utilise induction heating to externally heat our tobacco (neo™) and herbal-based (veo™) nicotine containing consumables. Energy is transferred from the induction coils via a magnetic field to a heating element that surrounds and heats the consumable to a specific temperature range. Our induction heating range has resulted in a real step-change in heated product performance, which we hope will encourage smokers, who would otherwise continue to smoke, to completely switch.

 

Specifically designed for use with our glo™ devices, our neo™ and veo™ consumables deliver an aerosol that comprises mainly water, glycerol, nicotine and flavours when heated. Our consumables are not combusted but heated to temperatures closer to a baking experience. Controlled heating has a direct impact on the complexity of the heated product aerosol, compared to cigarette smoke, with no smoke or ash and lower toxicants.

Science

 

Scientific summary for BAT tobacco heating products:

  • They produce 90-95% less toxicants, compared to cigarette smoke.1
  • Unlike cigarette smoke, have no or little biological effect on cells in the laboratory cell tests.2,3,4
  • Smokers who switched exclusively to BAT’s glo tobacco heating product showed favourable changes in biomarkers of potential harm.5

References

  1. 1. Comparison with smoke from a scientific standard reference cigarette (approximately 9mg of tar) in terms of the average of the 9 harmful components the World Health Organisation recommends to reduce in cigarette smoke.
  2. 2. Mark Taylor, David Thorne, Tony Carr, Damien Breheny, Paul Walker, Christopher Proctor, Marianna Gaça, Assessment of novel tobacco heating product THP1.0. Part 6: A comparative in vitro study using contemporary screening approaches, Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yrtph.2017.08.016
  3. 3. Tomasz Jaunky, Jason Adamson, Simone Santopietro, Anya Terry, David Thorne, Damien Breheny, Christopher Proctor, Marianna Gaça, Assessment of tobacco heating product THP1.0. Part 5: In vitro dosimetric and cytotoxic assessment, Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yrtph.2017.09.016
  4. 4. David Thorne, Damien Breheny, Christopher Proctor, Marianna Gaca, Assessment of novel tobacco heating product THP1.0. Part 7: Comparative in vitro toxicological evaluation, Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yrtph.2017.08.017
  5. 5. Gale, N., McEwan, M., Hardie, G. et al. Changes in biomarkers of exposure and biomarkers of potential harm after 360 days in smokers who either continue to smoke, switch to a tobacco heating product or quit smoking. Intern Emerg Med 17, 2017–2030 (2022).https://doi.org/10.1007/s11739-022-03062-1

Oral Nicotine Pouches

 

Oral Nicotine Pouches consist of a cellulose-based filler with high purity nicotine and flavours, wrapped in a fleece. Consumers place the disposable pouch between their gum and upper lip, typically for around 30 minutes, during which time nicotine and flavours are released and the nicotine is absorbed through the lining of the mouth.

 

They utilise nicotine extracted from tobacco that is refined and purified to minimise tobacco-related toxicants. As such, Modern Oral Nicotine Pouches have <1% of the toxicants found in cigarette smoke.

Our Velo nicotine pouches are available in different sizes, strength and flavours to accommodate consumer preferences.

 

 

Watch:

Velo Cross-Sectional Study

Science

 

Results of our scientific studies for our BAT nicotine pouches

  • They contain 99% less toxicants than cigarette smoke.1
  • They even have less toxicants compared to snus2, a traditional oral product, which is already established as reduced-risk compared to smoking cigarettes.3
  • They have a risk profile similar to Nicotine Replacement Therapy products.4

References

  1. 1.Comparison with smoke from a scientific standard reference cigarette (approximately 9mg of tar) in terms of the average of the 9 harmful components the World Health Organisation recommends to reduce in cigarette smoke.
  2. 2. Bishop E, East N, Bozhilova S, et al. (2020). An approach for the extract generation and toxicological assessment of tobacco-free ‘modern’ oral nicotine pouches. Food Chem Toxicol 2020; 145: 111713. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2020.111713
  3. 3. East, E. Bishop, D. Breheny, M. Gaca, D. Thorne, A screening approach for the evaluation of tobacco-free ‘modern oral’ nicotine products using Real Time Cell Analysis, Toxicology Reports, Volume 8, 2021, Pages 481-488, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxrep.2021.02.014
  4. 4. Azzopardi D, et al. Chemical characterisation of tobacco-free ‘modern’ oral nicotine pouches and their position on the toxicant and risk continuums. Drug & Chemical Toxicology 2021 https://doi.org/10.1080/01480545.2021.1925691

Product Stewardship

 

At BAT, we are committed to ensuring that our products are developed and manufactured responsibly. We have a rigorous framework for our product stewardship – reflecting our commitment to have products that meet consistently high quality and safety standards. Product stewardship guides both the development and testing of all our products, ensuring we have a vigorous and systematic approach.

 

Within our product stewardship activities, we conduct toxicological risk assessments of the ingredients and materials proposed for all new and current tobacco and nicotine-containing products. We also conduct our own scientific research programmes in support of our products, apply ongoing scientific and regulatory developments to our product assessments, and participate in scientific engagement with external stakeholders.

 

Our toxicologists use published, peer-reviewed literature and government databases of accepted information as a starting point. When additional needs for scientific information are identified, scientific studies are designed and conducted to fully assess new and current products.

Watch:

Product Stewardship

Flavours

 

Our scientists evaluated the effect of nine flavoured BAT
e-liquids on human lung cells.

 

View Study

The study demonstrated that the tested e-liquid flavours do not meaningfully increase the measured toxicological impact of the respective e-cigarette aerosols, and toxicity of the flavoured e-cigarette tested remained >95% reduced when compared to cigarette smoke toxicity.

 

It is important to note that, these findings were derived from commercial products that have undergone rigorous product stewardship and compliance with ingredient inclusion and exclusion criteria based on globally recognised risk assessment approaches.

 

We believe similar manufacturing and safety standards should be mandated by law in all countries in which e-cigarettes are sold.