Awareness and Use of 'Heat-not-burn' Tobacco Products in Great Britain

Objective: ‘Heat-not-burn’ tobacco products have recently come onto the market in several countries; existing research has mostly been conducted by the manufacturers. We aimed to estimate awareness and use in Great Britain. Methods: Data were derived from a national online survey of adults conducted in February–March 2017 (N = 12,696), weighted to be representative of the adult population in GB. Awareness and use of heat-not-burn products were assessed using 2 question versions, combined figures were assessed by respondent characteristics using chi-square tests of independence and Cramer’s V. Results: Combining the 2 question versions, 9.3% (95% CI: 8.8–9.8) reported awareness, this included 0.9% (95% CI: 0.8–1.1) who had tried or used the products in the past and 0.8% currently using (95% CI: 0.7–1.0). Use of heat-not-burn tobacco products differed (p ≤ .001) with age, sex, socio-economic status, smoking and e-cigarette use; however, the only association with at least a small effect was e-cigarette users reporting higher prevalence than non-users 2(9)=674.1, p < .001; V=0.133. Conclusions: About 9% of adults in national GB survey reported being aware of heat-not-burn products, less than 2% had ever tried them.