News Release
08 November 2016British American Tobacco launches glo™ – a new-to-world Tobacco Heating Product – in Japan
British American Tobacco today announces the launch of glo™ – a Tobacco Heating Product which is a revolution in simplicity. This unique next generation tobacco product provides a new-to-world experience. Similar to that of a cigarette, but with reduced risk potential, glo™ heats rather than burns tobacco**. This delivers a cleaner experience* with around 90% less toxicants** than a standard cigarette.
glo™ is a truly innovative product. Designed in the UK, involving over 100 experts across five continents including scientists, engineers, designers, tobacco experts and toxicologists. The “one unit, one button” device is simple and intuitive, with one single charge lasting more than 30 sessions based on back-to-back usage.
Kingsley Wheaton, Managing Director of Next Generation Products at BAT, said: “We are absolutely committed to inspiring products and that’s why we are continuously innovating and offering consumers fantastic choices.
“Following an extensive programme of research and development, glo™ has been developed by our leading scientists and experts1. BAT has invested over USD$1bn in the last five years in the development, scale up and launch of Next Generation Products.”
glo™ heats proprietary Kent Neostiks™ to approximately 240 Celsius to provide a highly satisfying taste, similar to that of a cigarette, with around 90% less toxicants**. glo™ also offers a number of added features including: no burning or ash2, less odour on your hands, hair, clothes and surroundings3.
Kingsley Wheaton continued: “glo™ delivers on taste, it delivers on consumer experience and delivers on our commitment to provide consumers with inspirational Next Generation Products.”
glo™ launches with three flavours of KENT Neostiks™:
- Intensely Fresh – a burst of cooling fresh mint
- Fresh Mix – a complex mix of mint and velvety notes
- Bright Tobacco – a superbly balanced and mellow experience.
Japan is the first launch market, chosen as it is a global leader for innovation. glo™ will be available in retail outlets in December.
- BAT’s R&D facility in Southampton is home to 1,000 employees, ranging from leading scientists to specialists in toxicology, engineering, tobacco and flavour development – to name a few. BAT’s R&D facility today employs more people than it did when it first opened over 100 years as a tobacco factory.
- This does not necessarily mean this product produces less adverse health effects than other tobacco products.
- Compared to a conventional cigarette when smoked.
Notes to editors
* This does not necessarily mean that this product’s impact on health is less than other tobacco products.
** This is a comparison between the smoke from combusted tobacco in a standard 3R4F reference cigarette (approximately 9 mg tar), and the vapour from heated tobacco in glo™, in terms of the 9 types of harmful components which the World Health Organization recommends to reduce.
glo™ is a tobacco heating product designed to offer ease of use and best-in-class quality and safety standards. It includes a number of safety features to ensure a quality user experience, for example:
- It has a high quality aluminium sleeve and robust plastic base. The internal materials consist of thermal plastic which is heat resistant, a vacuum tube which ensures the exterior remains cool to the touch, rapid heating technology and a high quality lithium battery.
- It will shut off in the event of over-heating and has features that protect it from being charged incorrectly.
- The device has been independently tested by a globally-recognised organisation against international safety standards for consumer devices
Enquiries
British American Tobacco Next Generation Products Communications Team
Lucinda Kemeny
P: +44 (0) 20 7845 1438/M: +44 (0) 7958 924 188
Annie Brown
P: +44 (0) 20 7845 2332/M: +44 (0) 771 441 1893