“Ploom” will she make a splash? In any case, the “vapers”, the regulars of the electronic cigarette, could well be mistaken: this concept of electronic cigarette based on tobacco visually resembles the “classic” E-cigarette. With one major difference: the model invented by the Japanese tobacco manufacturer Japan Tobacco International (JPI) works with tobacco and not with nicotine-based liquid.
It will be understood, the idea of the designer is not to offer yet another alternative to cigarettes but to overshadow the electronic cigarette, which appeals to more than one in five French people today.
To dispel any misunderstanding, the Ploom is sold like any tobacco product at the tobacconist. Count 33.90 euros, the “e-tobacco” with the USB key to recharge it and 6 euros for the pack of twelve capsules.
A reduced risk which remains to be demonstrated
Like coffee machines, Ploom uses tobacco capsules that are inserted inside the machine. These refills, which last 10 minutes, or the equivalent of 2 cigarettes, are heated and not burnt, unlike cigarettes.
We wonder: does this make the product less harmful? Is tobacco vapor less toxic than its combustion? So many questions to which the manufacturer is careful not to answer.
We know that in the case of cigarettes, combustion causes the formation of a large number of toxic substances: tars, toxic gases (carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, hydrocyanic acid, ammonia) and heavy metals (cadmium, mercury, lead, etc. chromium). But no serious study has evaluated the impact of steam on health.
One thing is certain, the Ploom is a marketing strategy to ensure the loyalty of die-hard smokers.
