Heated tobacco products (HTPs) pose challenges to regulators, who are facing questions about the unique characteristics and diversity of these products and how to regulate them in the face of aggressive tobacco industry tactics and no internationally agreed approaches for assessing the risks they present, including those to public health.

In May 2018, WHO released the ‘Heated tobacco products information sheet’ to provide information on HTPs, how these products work, where they are marketed and WHO’s recommendations on these products, among other topics. The second edition of the HTP information sheet updates the first edition. Since then, there have been several publications both on the science and regulation of heated tobacco products and WHO has undertaken some work on these products, with future work planned. This updated information sheet summarizes current knowledge on HTPs to a wide range of audiences, with a focus on regulators.