Abstract
Background research into the legacy of disease and death that cigarette smoking imposes on the health of the population is extensive. It has become obvious that smoking causes various health problems, and that not only smokers but also non-smokers are affected by secondhand smoke, which is a major public health problem. In response to health concerns about the harmful health effects of smoking, the tobacco industry has begun to market new tobacco products, such as heated Tobacco product (HTP), as Modified Risk Tobacco Products (MRTP) to traditional cigarettes. The investigations on HTP were carried out only by the producing company and its competitors in those years. Their studies concluded that HTP emissions were less harmful than cigarette smoke. However, there is a report for a case of acute eosinophilic pneumonia that developed after switching from conventional cigarette smoking to HTP smoking, and HTP can rapidly and substantially impair the cardiovascular system in rats comparably to smoke from a cigarette. Moreover, there is a report that prenatal exposure to HTP adversely affects the male testicular function of the offspring more than smoke from conventional cigarettes. This article objectively reviews the potential effects of HTP on human health and the environment by searching and integrating the published research manuscript. In this review, I begin with a brief discussion of the research trends of HTP, followed by the introduction of impact on several diseases compared to the conventional cigarette. Moreover, the last section is devoted to the challenges and future research directions.
