philip morris device knows a lot about your smoking habit

Tokyo, Switzerland/Newcastle (Reuters)-
Philip Morris International, seeking regulatory approval for a new smoking device called iQOS, claims that this electronic device is less likely to cause disease than conventional cigarettes.
But iQOS has another less obvious advantage than regular smoking: the ability to collect personal data on users\' smoking habits.
The tobacco giant is already building an iQOS customer database registered with the company.
It has developed a software application that can go further.
If the regulator allows, the initiative can extract information about users\' smoking habits from the device and use it for marketing purposes, said a former project manager of the company, he tested the software in Japan.
The data will include the number of puffs and the average daily consumption, said Shiro Masaoka, who worked in Philip Morris, Japan from 2012 to 2016.
When asked about Masaoka\'s comments, Philip Morris said that the software in the device that controls the temperature and the time of use \"is not used for any marketing purposes.
A Canadian company specializing in Reverse Transactions
The engineering technology equipment company said that iQOS is equipped with two microprocessor chips, one of which can support the storage of usage information by modifying the device and then transmit it back to Philip Morris.
According to Ottawa, from the product description of the chip used, the data may include the number of users puffs and the details of how many times a person has smoked this device on a certain day.
Headquartered in TechInsights Inc. , the company checked the internal structure of iqos for Reuters.
The company\'s inspection includes hardware and components;
It does not test the functionality of the device software.
Reuters is releasing techinsi\'s disassembly report as part of a searchable repository of Philip Morris files that includes internal company documents.
In a statement, Philip Morris said that in accepting the results of the TechInsights survey, \"The data information from the device is not in contact with a specific consumer, only the device.
A patent filed by Philip Morris\'s subsidiary in 2009 indicates how communication with smokers will operate.
It describes an iQOS-
Just as the device has an \"interface to establish a communication link for uploading data to the Internet and downloading data from the internet --enabled host.
Gregory Connolly, a professor at Northeastern University in Boston, who studied iQOS technology and patents, said Philip Murray\'s ability to collect user data can bring extraordinary power to the device.
\"They will have a big database about how Americans smoke,\" he said . \".
\"They will then be able to re-program the current iQOS bloat delivery model as a model that may be more intensive and have the potential for addiction.
Speaking of these comments, Philip Morris referred to Moira Gilcrist, vice president of science and public communication, in his speech on January.
\"I can rest assured that there is no technology there that is intended to manipulate what is passed from iQOS in any way,\" Gilchrist told the US scientific advisory group . \"S.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Philip Morris said that the only time the company pulled data from the device was when trying to find out the cause of the failure.
Gilchrist told the FDA team that the level of nicotine provided by iQOS is roughly the same as that provided by standard cigarettes.
Philip Morris says the nicotine delivery of the device cannot be changed.
However, Gilchrist does say that the company is able to \"capture data\", such as the number of puffs on iQOS, but will not do so unless it is necessary to check devices with technical problems.
She said that the number of puffs and the smoking time of each tobacco insert were automatically adjusted by the device.
The company said that by heating tobacco rather than burning tobacco, iQOS significantly reduced the level of carcinogens and other toxic substances that users are exposed to in ordinary cigarettes.
The company claims that the device \"may reduce the risk of smoking-related diseases.
IQOS system uses cigarettes-
Just like plug-ins with tobacco that are called \"hot sticks\" in some markets.
They slid into a pen.
Size bracket with heating part called \"Blade.
\"The device is equipped with USB cable and has the availability of Bluetooth wireless communication in some markets.
Philip Morris says iQOS is for smokers who would otherwise not quit smoking.
It applied to the FDA for permission to sell the device in the United States because it was less harmful than cigarettes.
On January, the advisory panel at the FDA hearing voted to approve a finding that scientific research showed that a complete shift from cigarettes to iQOS significantly reduced the exposure of smokers to harmful chemicals.
But it also found that Philip Morris did not demonstrate that this reduction was \"rather likely\" to result in a \"measurable and substantial\" reduction in illness and/or death.
A Reuters survey published in December found that some of the major researchers had defects in training and professional spirit in clinical trials, which are the basis for tobacco giants to apply to the FDA.
Former Philip Morris employees and contractors described the violations in these studies.
Reuters found no evidence that the results were manipulated or falsified.
In a statement to Reuters, Philip Morris said, \"All studies were conducted by qualified and trained leading researchers,\" the researchers responsible for overseeing clinical trials.
In a letter dated February, reference was made to the Reuters findings, a group of 10 AmericansS.
Senators have asked FDA Commissioner Scott goldley to \"avoid rushing\" to approve products such as iQOS without the need for strong evidence that any such product would reduce the risk of disease and cause a large number of smokers to quit smoking, no increase in the number of teenagers smoking.
\"The company has filed a series of patents related to electronic smoking equipment.
A such patent issued in 2016 describes a mouthpiece with a sensor for measuring the amount of nicotine by-products in the user\'s saliva and allowing remote adjustments to the device.
According to the patent, this change will allow the monitoring and control of the \"maximum threshold\" of the amount of nicotine received by the user \".
In a statement dated December, Philip Morris said that the patent \"is not used in any of our products and we have no plans for the foreseeable future.
\"At the meeting of the FDA advisory group on January, Gilchrist was asked how the company uses Bluetooth, which provides a larger connection for iQOS users.
She replied that it was used to remind consumers, for example, when they had to clean the equipment or re-clean it
Order hot sticks so they don\'t run out and have to go back to regular cigarettes.
Gilchrist said: \"You know, for example, that a message might appear: \'Hey, you\'re not using your iQOS device today. \'\".
\"Did you quit smoking or did you return to combustible cigarettes?
\"In Japan, Philip Morris has a looser tobacco marketing law than in many countries, and he is collecting user information by registering the device.
In a flagship store in Tokyo\'s stylish Harajuku district, the word iQOS extends all the way to the glass --
Encased building offers customers a discount on the purchase of the device in exchange for registration on the company\'s iQOS website.
The company provides incentives for people to register on the website, including iQOS discounts.
In doing so, potential customers are asked to enter a smoking preference list and user ID for their Instagram social media account.
Philip Morris said in a statement that it did so \"to ensure that these consumers can use the iQOS Instagram account, which is closed and is limited to age --
Consumers registered in Philip Morris Japan iQOS consumer database have been verified.
The Philip Morris internal manual for Issue 2016 discusses the approach to social media.
It gives an example of Facebook posts for customers. “Did you know?
A suggested post is written like this.
\"Our latest version of iQOS can be connected to an application that helps you adapt to your product faster.
Rotate and learn more.