Florida’s Heated Tobacco Bills Signal a Shift Toward Harm Reduction

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Key Points:

• Legislative Overview: Florida SB 754 and HB 377 would formally recognize heated tobacco products (HTPs) as distinct from combustible cigarettes by defining them as products that heat – rather than burn – tobacco, producing an inhalable aerosol without smoke.

• Regulatory Clarity Matters: By excluding HTPs from Florida’s definitions of combustible cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (OTPs), the bills ensure these products are not swept into cigarette-style regulations or punitive OTP taxes.

• Harm Reduction Recognition: The legislation acknowledges a core public-health principle: it is smoke from combustion – not nicotine – that causes the vast majority of tobacco-related disease. Heating tobacco instead of burning it significantly reduces exposure to harmful chemicals.

• Strong Scientific Support:

  • A 2019 review found HTPs reduced harmful and potentially harmful constituents by at least 62 percent compared to cigarettes.

  • A 2020 American Cancer Society study linked HTP adoption to declining cigarette sales in Japan.

  • A 2022 Cochrane Review reported moderate-certainty evidence that HTP users have lower toxicant exposure than smokers.

  • The UK Committee on Toxicity estimates HTP aerosols contain up to 90 percent fewer harmful compounds than cigarette smoke.

• U.S. Regulatory Context: In the U.S., the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has acknowledged HTP harm-reduction potential but authorized only one product – IQOS – through the PMTA process, with limited modified-risk claims.

• Florida Smoking Trends: In 2024, just over 2 million Florida adults – 10.6 percent of the adult population – were current smokers. While slightly up from 2023, this still represents a 31.6 percent decline since 2016.

• Income Disparities in Smoking: Smoking remains heavily concentrated among lower-income Floridians. In 2024, 23.5 percent of adults earning $25,000 or less smoked, compared to 7.6 percent of adults earning $50,000 or more – making low-income adults 3.1 times more likely to smoke.

• Education Disparities in Smoking: 21.9 percent of adults without a high school diploma were smokers in 2024, compared to just 6.8 percent of college graduates – a more than threefold gap.

• Youth Use Remains Minimal: According to the CDC’s 2024 National Youth Tobacco Survey, only 1.2 percent of U.S. youth were current cigarette smokers. Just 0.8 percent reported current use of heated tobacco products – among the lowest levels ever recorded.

• Why These Bills Matter: By avoiding punitive taxation and clearly distinguishing HTPs from cigarettes, SB 754 and HB 377 preserve incentives for adult smokers – especially lower-income and less-educated adults – to switch away from combustible cigarettes.

• Bottom Line: Florida’s heated tobacco bills reflect a modern, evidence-based approach to tobacco control – one that aligns regulation with the continuum of risk, protects adult choice, and supports continued declines in smoking without fueling youth use.

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Legislation introduced in the Sunshine State would formally recognize tobacco harm reduction. Companion bills filed in both chambers of the Florida Legislature would explicitly define heated tobacco products (HTPs) as distinct from combustible cigarettes and other tobacco products.

Senate Bill 754 and House Bill 377 would establish a new statutory definition for HTPs, describing them as products containing tobacco that are intended for use in an electronic device that heats – rather than burns – the product. Under the legislation, HTPs would be defined as not involving “burning or combustion,” instead producing an “inhalable aerosol by heating … but not producing smoke.” As a result, HTPs would be explicitly excluded from Florida’s definition of combustible cigarettes and would not be subject to the regulatory or tax structures applied to those products. The bills would also exclude HTPs from the state’s definition of Other Tobacco Products (OTPs), ensuring they are not swept into the existing OTP tax framework.

The proposed legislation represents a positive step forward by acknowledging the harm-reduction potential of heated tobacco products. By distinguishing HTPs from combustible cigarettes and avoiding punitive taxation, the bills help inform consumers about relative risk while preserving incentives for adult smokers to switch away from the most dangerous nicotine delivery system: combustible tobacco.

Globally, HTPs are helping power a smoke-free transition. Their increased adoption in several countries has coincided with historic declines in cigarette consumption, reinforcing the principle that reducing exposure to smoke – not nicotine – is key to reducing tobacco-related harm.

Policymakers should recognize that it is the smoke produced by combustion, not nicotine itself, that causes the overwhelming majority of tobacco-related disease. By heating tobacco instead of burning it, HTPs eliminate smoke and significantly reduce exposure to the harmful constituents created through combustion.

A growing body of scientific evidence supports this distinction. A 2019 review found that, compared to cigarettes, modern heated tobacco products reduced harmful and potentially harmful constituents by at least 62 percent. A 2020 American Cancer Society study concluded that HTPs likely contributed to declines in cigarette sales in Japan. A 2022 Cochrane Review reported moderate-certainty evidence that HTP users experience lower exposure to toxicants and carcinogens than smokers, while the UK Committee on Toxicity has estimated that HTP aerosols contain up to 90 percent fewer harmful compounds than cigarette smoke.

In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration has acknowledged the harm-reduction potential of heated tobacco products, though regulatory authorization has been limited. To date, only one HTP – Philip Morris International’s IQOS – has received marketing authorization through the premarket tobacco product application process. In April 2019, FDA authorized the IQOS Tobacco Heating System 2.4 and three Marlboro HeatSticks. In 2020, the agency granted a Modified Risk Tobacco Product order allowing “reduced exposure” claims for IQOS 2.4, though not “reduced risk” claims. Later that year, FDA authorized IQOS 3 through the PMTA pathway without MRTP status. The agency is currently reviewing the renewal of the MRTP order for IQOS 2.4.

HTPs – alongside other tobacco harm-reduction products such as e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches – have the potential to substantially reduce the burden of smoking in Florida. In 2024, just over 2 million Florida adults aged 18 or older were current smokers, representing 10.6 percent of the adult population. This marked a slight increase from 2023 but still reflects a 31.6 percent decline from 2016, when 15.5 percent of Florida adults smoked.

As in national data, smoking in Florida remains concentrated among lower-income and less-educated adults – groups that are disproportionately harmed by excise taxes on both cigarettes and reduced-risk alternatives. In 2024, 23.5 percent of adults earning $25,000 or less were current smokers, compared to 7.6 percent of adults earning $50,000 or more, making low-income adults 3.1 times more likely to smoke. Similarly, 21.9 percent of adults without a high school diploma were current smokers, compared to just 6.8 percent of college graduates, a disparity of more than threefold.

Importantly, the introduction of heated tobacco products has not been associated with increases in youth smoking or widespread youth uptake. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Youth Tobacco Survey, in 2024 only 5.8 percent of U.S. middle and high school students had ever tried a combustible cigarette, while just 1.2 percent were current smokers – among the lowest levels ever recorded. In the same year, only 1.2 percent reported ever trying a heated tobacco product, and 0.8 percent reported current use. Reclassifying HTPs as distinct from traditional tobacco products is therefore unlikely to result in meaningful increases in youth use of either combustible or novel tobacco products.

Both SB 754 and HB 377 are welcome steps forward. By clearly defining heated tobacco products as separate from combustible cigarettes and other tobacco products, Florida lawmakers can better educate nearly two million adult smokers about harm-reduction alternatives – without undermining the incentives that could help them transition away from smoking and toward significantly safer options.

Nothing in this analysis is intended to influence the passage of legislation, and it does not necessarily represent the views of Tobacco Harm Reduction 101.