Tobacco companies have poured billions into development and marketing of these new products, with some success. Philip Morris in its most recent quarter reported that its IQOS “smokeless cigarette”, which heats tobacco in a handheld device, had sold enough to offset a 25 per cent drop in conventional cigarette sales in Japan. The company says it has invested $3bn since 2008 on smoke-free products, which it hopes will account for more than 30 per cent of production by 2025. 

“They have been trying to hedge their bets and cultivate new markets to save their business,” says Marc Scheineson, who worked on tobacco regulation as an associate commissioner for the FDA, and is now a partner at law firm Alston & Bird.