BIG Tobacco firms, including British American Tobacco, are selling heat sticks made from nicotine-infused substances such as rooibos tea (pictured), countering an incoming EU ban on flavoured heated tobacco products.
While the sticks mark a new way to inhale the addictive drug, health experts warn that their safety is unclear, Reuters has reported.
The industry has produced "heat-not-burn" sticks containing tobacco for years, aiming to avoid the toxic chemicals released via combustion.
British American Tobacco has now gone a step further, launching a version of its sticks containing nicotine-infused rooibos tea instead of tobacco in nine European markets, including Germany and Greece, the publication reported.
The company plans to roll the product out globally, despite yet unknown risks associated with inhaling the tea, researchers warned.
"Anything that burns or is vaporised...and inhaled into the lungs, probably will cause some effects," said Erikas Simonavicius, a research associate at King's College London, UK.
However, for now, it means tobacco companies can sell rooibos sticks in flavours like peppermint and tropical fruit even after a ban on flavoured heated tobacco products is implemented across the bloc later this month. JG
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