JAPAN
Regulators now have heated tobacco products in their crosshairs, preparing to expand the scope of their rules against passive smoking. This would cast a shadow over the fate of the heat-not-burn (HNB) products that have achieved an increasing share of the tobacco market in the country.
HNB product manufacturers say the products do not produce secondhand smoke and have relatively little health impact on people around the user. As of now, there are no regulations controlling their use in public places. However, the freedom to use them in public locations will be restricted after the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare introduces the planned regulations, which are still being drafted.
Philip Morris Japan president, Shea Lih Goh, estimates that heated tobacco’s share of the market will reach 50% by 2020. Rapid growth of heated tobacco products has been driven partly by their healthier image due to manufacturers’ claims that they produce fewer harmful substances compared to cigarettes.
Sales of heated tobacco products have grown quickly in Japan since their introduction two years ago, and they now represent nearly 20% of the country’s tobacco sales.
However, the health ministry says that heated tobacco vapors include harmful substances.
As the regulations are still being drafted, it is not yet known how much the final regulation will restrict heated tobacco smoking.