JTI gives new shape to smoking

Ploom Cube

TOKYO – As more consumers warm up to heated tobacco products (HTPs), leading global player Japan Tobacco International (JTI) is taking it a step further by rolling out a fresh lineup of HTP-supported devices.

Charlie Chen, VP for Reduced-Risk Products Development Center at JTI, said the Ploom Cube – which was recently launched in Japan – features a different aesthetic than its predecessor, the Ploom Aura.

While both models use the proprietary Smart Heat Flow technology, the Ploom Cube is designed as a pocket-friendly, cube-shaped lightweight device, and retails for around ¥2,980 (P1,180).

Chen said reshaping the HTP device from the original stick form into a cube took into consideration insights from consumers themselves.

“It is not only about taste itself, it is not about the flavor itself. Some of our consumers take the designs and also even the compatibility to their lifestyles as a high priority. And based on that insight, we are delivering not only the slimmer type of the Ploom to be able to meet the preference of different consumers, their experience or to meet their consideration of the values the product can bring to them,” he said.

The Smart Heat Flow technology in both the Aura and Cube units was developed over several years to resolve technical challenges regarding heating stability. It focuses on heating cup geometries and materials to optimize speed and energy efficiency, ensuring flavor consistency.

“From our research and development, we continue to invest on innovations, and we are now putting heated products as our first priority. But in the meanwhile, we also trying to optimize and invest on some of the other product portfolios to meet the market needs,” Chen said.

He pointed out that by heating rather than burning tobacco, Ploom produces overall lower levels of harmful substances compared to cigarette smoke.

For a single full charge, the Ploom units can provide 15 to 20 sessions or sticks, enough for a whole day’s usage, depending on the consumer. The device, meanwhile, has been designed to last for two years,  based on thousands of simulated usage cycles.

Due to the growing popularity of HTPs, JTI’s Ploom has now cornered nearly half of the smoking-heavy Japan market and an average 13 percent share of the global market as of June this year, said marketing director Akira Yamaguchi.

He said Ploom is now the fastest-growing HTP brand in the 30 markets of JTI’s global network, registering a blistering 43.5 percent volume growth as of the second quarter of 2026, compared to a year ago.