The name IQOS comes from I quit ordinary smoking. It was the first heated tobacco system on the market and remains the market leader. The current ILUMA i generation heats real tobacco by induction, inside the stick itself.
How the IQOS ILUMA works
You push a TEREA stick into the holder. An induction coil heats the metal element inside the stick to roughly 350 °C – by comparison, a burning cigarette reaches up to 850 °C. Nicotine and glycerine are released from the tobacco, and the glycerine turns into vapour. The draw resembles a cigarette, but the exhaled vapour disperses within seconds and leaves almost no smell.
After about 15 seconds the stick is ready, and you then have roughly six minutes or 14 draws. The device vibrates shortly before the end. The holder covers two sticks in a row, after which it goes back into the charger for a few minutes.
Because TEREA sticks are sealed at the bottom, the residue stays inside the stick. The device therefore needs practically no cleaning.
The three models
- IQOS ILUMA i ONE – compact all-in-one device, good for around 20 sticks
- IQOS ILUMA i – holder and charger with a touchscreen
- IQOS ILUMA i PRIME – aluminium body, the top model
Prices differ significantly between markets – in the EU an ILUMA i ONE typically starts in the low tens of euros while the PRIME sits around a hundred. Check the official iqos.com shop for your country. We compare the models in detail in the Review section.
What about the sticks?
A pack of TEREA holds 20 sticks, and prices vary widely across Europe because of national tobacco taxes – the same pack can cost less than half in one country what it costs in another. See our overview of the range for what is available.
Where to buy IQOS
Devices are sold through the official online shop, IQOS stores and shop-in-shops. TEREA sticks are additionally available wherever tobacco products are sold – tobacconists, kiosks and supermarkets.
TEREA and HEETS are not the same
Older IQOS models used HEETS; the ILUMA uses TEREA exclusively. They are not interchangeable: a HEETS stick does nothing at all in an ILUMA, and a TEREA stick in an older device can damage its heating blade.
And for all its advantages, the most important sentence stands: IQOS is not a risk-free product. It remains nicotine use, with everything that entails.