With the introduction of novel and potentially less polluting nicotine containing products to the market, the impacts of their usage to indoor air quality as opposed to conventional pollution sources must be reviewed and considered. This review study aimed to comparatively analyse changes in indoor air quality as the consequence of tobacco heating system (THS) generated pollution against general indoor air quality in various micro-environments, especially with combustion-based pollution sources present. Indoor concentrations of formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, benzene, toluene, nicotine and PM were reviewed and compared; concentrations of other harmful and potentially harmful substances (HPHCs) were discussed. Generally, the usage of THS has been associated with lower or comparable indoor air pollutant concentrations compared against other conventional indoor sources or environments, in most cases distinguishable above background, thus potentially being associated with health effects at prolonged exposures as any other artificial air pollution source. In the controlled environment the use of THS (as well as an electronic cigarette) resulted in the lowest concentrations of formaldehyde, benzene, toluene, PM among majority researched pollution sources (conventional cigarettes, waterpipe, incense, mosquito coils). The exposure to significantly higher pollution levels of benzene, toluene, and formaldehyde occurred in public environments, especially transport micro-environments. Such low levels of conventionally-assessed indoor pollutants resulting from the use of new nicotine containing products raise challenges for epidemiological studies of second-hand exposure to THS aerosol in real-life environments.

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Heated tobacco products (HTPs) and electronic cigarettes (ECs) represent a potentially less harmful alternative to traditional tobacco products, such as conventional cigarettes (CCs), with growing popularity amongst adult smokers worldwide. Their users exhale a very dynamic aerosol to indoor air which undergoes rapid transformations. In the present study, we assessed the dynamics of the generated exhaled aerosols following use of a new HTP (branded as "Pulze", operating in eco and standard modes) and an e-cigarette ("myblu") in a chamber environment by three volunteers, controlling for the distance to bystander, ventilation intensity and microclimate. The HTP and EC data was compared against conventional cigarette data. HTP generally resulted in lower aerosol number concentration during puffs reaching 1.66E+06 # cm -3 at 0.5 m from bystander, compared to EC (averaging 4.3E+06 # cm -3 ), and CC (1.47E+08 # cm -3 ). No significant difference was observed between "eco" and "standard" modes of HTP. At the same time, EC concentration decrease after puffs was also faster, indicating higher volatility of particles. EC also featured higher mode during puff (120 nm) compared to HTP (90 nm), which was significantly different from conventional cigarette (165-200 nm). The evaporation/shrinkage of particles has been observed within 10 sec after puff with the HTP and EC. Distance to a bystander was shown to be as a significant factor affecting aerosol dynamics, however ventilation intensity and relative humidity did not have statistically significant effect.

The article analyses the existing research on odour emissions from the passive odour source – municipal landfill for non-hazardous waste. The current research has been carried out in the Vilnius county, at the Kazokiškės landfill for regional municipal waste. Odour emissions were analysed using samples from waste of different age and at different outdoor air temperatures. The investigation determined the concentration of odourous volatile organic compounds (VOCs) formed in the landfill (mg/m3) and odour emissions (OUe/m2s). The odour concentration varied between 0.02 OUe/m2s (from 9 year old waste at 11oC) to 1.29 OUe/m2s (from 0–3 year old waste at minus 1 oC and minus 10 oC). It was determined that as temperature decreases (within the range of 11 to minus 10 oC), the concentration of odour emissions increases. The coefficient of correlation between the temperature of environment and the concentration of odours emitted from the landfill stood at minus 0.91.

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