British American Tobacco Drives Tobacco Heating Product Expansion with Canada Launch

LONDON, May 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

British American Tobacco (BAT) today announces that it has launched i-glo™ - a tobacco heating product which is a revolution in simplicity - in Canada. i-glo™ heats rather than burns tobacco and delivers a cleaner experience *.

i-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.  

Kingsley Wheaton, Managing Director - Next Generation Products, at BAT commenting on the launch said: "i-glo™ represents our strategy in action - offering adult smokers a range of innovative alternatives to cigarettes."

i-glo™ is currently available in Vancouver, British Columbia. The company plans to expand the product into other provinces over the coming months. Canada is now the third market in which i-glo™ - also known as glo™ in some countries - has launched, as the company seeks to expand its consumer offering and footprint in innovative next generation products.

Wheaton continued: "Canadian adult smokers are looking for a choice of alternative tobacco products.  We believe i-glo™ will satisfy that demand and offer them a real alternative to smoking."

glo™ is already available in Sendai, Japan, and Switzerland. Following the launch of glo™ in Sendai, it has already gained 6.7% share of the tobacco market in a leading convenience store chain. In addition, glo™ is gaining great consumer feedback in Japan and awareness of the product by consumers is extremely high.

Over the last five years, British American Tobacco has invested over US$1 billion in the development and commercialisation of alternative products and is committed to offering adult smokers a range of innovative Vapour and Tobacco Heating Products (THP) that are potentially less risky than traditional tobacco products such as conventional cigarettes.  BAT has the aim to lead in what it refers to as the Next Generation Product (NGP) category which includes leading in vapour, with its brand Vype, and leading in the THP market with i-glo™/ glo™.

British American Tobacco already has NGPs available in 13 markets across the Globe. The company plans on doubling its market presence in NGPs in 2017, and then again in 2018, to over 40 markets.

*These qualities do not necessarily mean that this product produces less adverse health effects than other tobacco products. By cleaner experience we are making the comparison with smoking conventional cigarettes which, unlike i-glo™/ glo™ produces ash.

Notes to editors  

*These qualities do not necessarily mean that this product produces less adverse health effects than other tobacco products. By cleaner experience we are making the comparison with smoking conventional cigarettes which, unlike i-glo™/ glo™ produces ash.

i-glo™  (also known as 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 prevent product malfunctions such as overheating and battery explosions and 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

About Next Generation Products 

Next Generation Products is part of British American Tobacco Group, focussed on developing and delivering exciting alternative products for adult consumers in the key areas of: Vapour and Tobacco Heating Products.

About British American Tobacco Group 

British American Tobacco is the world's second largest quoted tobacco group by global market share, with brands sold in more than 200 markets. We have five Global Drive Brands - Dunhill, Kent, Lucky Strike, Pall Mall and Rothmans - and over 200 brands in our portfolio. We hold robust market positions in each of our regions and have leadership positions in more than 60 markets.