Big Tobacco to sell ‘smokeless cigarette’ vaping devices after UAE law change

The company behind Marlboro is to sell “smokeless cigarettes” over the counter after a change in the law made their sale legal.

Philip Morris International said yesterday that 11 supermarkets and shops would start selling its IQOS devices, as would a branch of Dubai Duty Free.

The multinational claims its “heat not burn” technology has a far smaller impact on health than traditional cigarettes.

Its battery-operated devices, named IQOS, release vapour instead of harmful smoke, although medical researchers say they are not as benign as some would suggest.

“Our aim is to target all smokers with the IQOS product,” said Tarkan Demirbas, the Middle East vice president for PMI.

“Changing the regulations about smoking alternatives shows governments are becoming aware of the impact on smokers of reduced-risk products. This is the industry’s future.” So-called “smokeless cigarettes” will not be taxed in the UAE, but tobacco refills, or “sticks”, used within them will be subject to 100 per cent duty under the 2017 “sin tax”.

The move this year to legalise the sale of liquid nicotine vapes and e-cigarettes came amid a broader debate between doctors and manufacturers about the gadgets’ effect on health.

Philip Morris hopes the latest version of its IQOS 3 device will overtake black market sales of such products in the UAE, which are currently sold online for more than three times their typical retail price abroad.

Philip Morris will sell IQOS gadgets over the counter for the first time for Dh250. Online resellers currently offer the gadgets for up to Dh800.

Tobacco sticks, marketed variously as HeatSticks or Heets, will cost Dh20 for a packet of 10.

Choithrams, Spinneys, Al Maya and Carrefour are among retailers that will sell the refills.

Researchers from the University of California found last year that because a heat stick lasts for only six minutes before the device needs a recharge, smokers speed up their “puff rate” to inhale more nicotine.

They concluded the IQOS system “may not be as harm free” as Philip Morris claimed and said more research was needed.

The firm rejected the findings and said it found “different puffing regimes showed no increase” in toxicants.

It said those who swapped cigarettes for IQOS drew in far fewer toxicants regardless.

While some doctors say such devices can wean heavy smokers off tar-laden cigarettes, others regard any form of tobacco as too dangerous to recommend.

“There is a misunderstanding around the impact tobacco use or smoking leaves on individuals’ health,” said Dr Monthir Alfetlawi, a consultant cardiologist at Sheikh Khalifa Medical City in Ajman.

“There is a need for continued public health strategies and education campaigns to discourage people in the UAE from using tobacco in various forms.”