Cigarette and HTP Sales in Japan

Heated tobacco products (HTP) now account for about a third of tobacco sales in Japan. There is a consensus around the following factors to account for this phenomenal rise matched against a dramatic fall in cigarettes sales:

» Interest in innovative technologies

» Relatively high levels of disposable income

» A paradoxical legal situation which on the one hand bans vaping products but on the other, not only allows HTP products to be sold, but gives the companies license to advertise and promote widely alongside a favourable tax regime.

» A cultural ethic whereby Japanese people are very considerate in health terms such that they embrace HTP over cigarettes as being less polluting and irritating to others. Consumer research in Japan revealed that the top two reasons for switching were not having to worry about unpleasant smells nor affecting others and also that they are less harmful than cigarettes.

See also p.51 of the report: Burning Issues: The Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction 2020