Understanding Associated Factors for IQOS Use Among US Adults: Is the Risk re-Emerging?

Background: IQOS, the leading global brand of heated tobacco products (i.e., nicotine delivery systems that heat tobacco at lower temperatures than combustible tobacco products to produce nicotine-containing aerosols for inhalation), is scheduled to resume sales in the United States in 2025. Amid ongoing debates about health effects, understanding the prevalence of IQOS use and the factors associated with it is essential for developing prevention strategies that address emerging market dynamics and use behaviors.

Methods: Using data from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study Wave 7 (2022-2023) (N = 29,780), we conducted a multivariable modified Poisson regression model on lifetime IQOS use by a priori predictors, age, sex, race, ethnicity, sexual identity, annual household income, past-30-day cigarette smoking, e-cigarette use, other substance use and internalizing and externalizing problems.

Results: Among total respondents, 0.3% reported lifetime IQOS use, representing 690,088 US adults. Lifetime IQOS use was associated with: being male (vs. female; aPR = 2.16, 95% CI = 1.25-3.73), past-30-day cigarette smoking (vs. no; aPR = 3.86, 95% CI = 2.07-7.19), past-30-day e-cigarette use (vs. no; aPR = 4.73, 95% CI = 2.57-8.70) and high externalizing problems (vs. low; aPR = 3.19, 95% CI = 1.28-7.95). These findings remained robust across multiple sensitivity analyses.

Conclusions: This study identified that males, adults reporting past-30-day cigarette smoking and e-cigarette use, and those with high externalizing problems are at elevated risk for lifetime IQOS use. Ongoing real-time surveillance and longitudinal research are needed to monitor IQOS use and its associated factors.