A battery-powered device heats a compact tobacco stick to a controlled temperature that releases nicotine and flavour as a vapour, without setting the tobacco alight. The IQOS ILUMA system does this with an induction coil inside the stick itself, so heat spreads evenly and the device stays clean.
No tobacco or nicotine product is risk-free. Because heated tobacco avoids combustion, the vapour contains significantly lower levels of many harmful chemicals found in cigarette smoke, and UK public health bodies consistently rank smoking as the most harmful option. If you do not already smoke, there is no reason to start using heated tobacco.
Current UK guidance places vaping lower on the risk scale than heated tobacco, because e-liquid contains no tobacco leaf. Heated tobacco sits between cigarettes and vaping: less harmful than smoking, but it still delivers a tobacco-derived aerosol.
There is a mild toasted-tobacco scent while a stick is in use, but it dissipates within minutes and does not soak into clothes, hair or furniture the way cigarette smoke does. Most users find they can use it around others without complaints, though venues set their own rules.
Tar is the residue produced by burning tobacco, so heated tobacco does not produce tar in the cigarette sense. The aerosol still contains nicotine and other substances from the tobacco leaf, which is why it remains an adult-only product rather than a harmless one.
The UK indoor smoking ban covers lit tobacco, and heated tobacco devices do not burn. In practice, almost all pubs, offices and public venues apply their vaping policy to heated tobacco, so ask before you use one indoors. At home the mild, fast-fading scent makes it far more room-friendly than a cigarette.