Vapeboss – Rahmana Emran Kartasasmita, a researcher from the School of Pharmacy, Bandung Institute of Technology (SF-ITB), stated that Indonesia needs to conduct more scientific studies on heated tobacco products to gain a better understanding of their benefits and safety.

"Heated tobacco products have begun to circulate in Indonesia. Therefore, comprehensive scientific literature reviews are needed to study the safety benefits of these products," said Emran.

At the 5th Scientific Summit held in Athens, Greece, on September 21-22, 2022, Emran presented an SF-ITB study entitled 'Comparison of Health Risk Profiles of Heated Tobacco Products Versus Indonesian Kretek Cigarettes'.

Emran explained that the study aimed to determine the risk profile of heated tobacco products compared to kretek cigarettes as part of a risk analysis that included risk identification and quantification.

In this scientific literature review, SF-ITB searched for hazard characterization data for compounds with threshold values (non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic-non-genotoxic) and without safety threshold values (carcinogenic genotoxic) based on selected Health Based Guidance Values (HBGV) as harmful and potentially harmful constituents (HPHC), as well as calculating exposure assessments with worst-case scenarios.

Then, the researchers proceeded to characterize non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic substances.

"In general, the level of exposure risk or marker compounds from heated tobacco products is lower than that from cigarettes," he said.

Emran added that the characteristics of HPHC compound exposure from heated tobacco products are lower than from cigarettes. HPHCs are compounds that pose health risks to smokers and people exposed to cigarette smoke.

"In general, the level of exposure risk or marker compounds from heated tobacco products is lower than that from cigarettes," he said.

Based on these facts, Emran hopes that research on heated tobacco products can be increased. This is because, currently in Indonesia, research on these products is still very limited.

"I invite all sectors, from academics to other researchers, to conduct this research and further study our findings. The results of these studies can serve as a starting point to enrich academic texts for policymakers, other researchers, and for public understanding," he concluded.

Source: Viva