Ploom is heated tobacco, and it is the quietest of the three big systems sold in the UK. It has a smaller following than IQOS but a devoted one, largely because of how it handles flavour. This page covers the Ploom device and the full EVO stick range we stock at Vape Superstore UK.

Contents

• What Ploom actually is
• Ploom X Advanced Kit
• How Ploom heating differs from the rest
• EVO sticks, the full colour guide
• Choosing your first EVO flavour
• Compatibility, what fits what
• Using and caring for a Ploom
• Ploom compared with IQOS
• Heated tobacco against vaping and smoking
• UK law, tax and age rules
• What it costs to run
• Ploom FAQs

What Ploom actually is

A cigarette burns tobacco at around 900 degrees, and that combustion produces the smoke, tar and ash. Ploom heats a compressed tobacco stick to a far lower temperature instead, releasing a nicotine bearing aerosol without setting anything alight.

No smoke, no ash, and very little lingering smell. It is not a vape. There is no e liquid, no coil and no nicotine salt. You are using real tobacco and it still contains nicotine, which is addictive. Treat it as a reduced risk product for existing smokers, not a safe one and not a way to start.

Ploom X Advanced Kit

The Ploom X Advanced Kit is the current device and the only one you need. It is a single piece unit, so there is no separate holder to charge or lose, and it gives around twenty sessions per charge.

The build is noticeably more solid than the price suggests, and the magnetic cap is the detail owners tend to mention first. Unlike earlier heated tobacco devices there is no blade inside, so there is nothing fragile to snap when you remove a stick.

How Ploom heating differs from the rest

Ploom uses a surrounding heating chamber rather than a blade pushed into the centre of the stick. The tobacco is warmed evenly from the outside in.

Two practical consequences follow. The flavour is gentler and more even through the session, with none of the harsher note some people notice at the end of a blade heated stick. And because nothing penetrates the tobacco, the chamber stays far cleaner, which is why Ploom needs less maintenance than the older systems it competes with.

The trade off is that the aerosol is lighter. If you want a heavy, obvious hit, this is not the system for you and you would be happier with a vape.

EVO sticks, the full colour guide

EVO sticks are the tobacco sticks made for the Ploom X. Like every heated tobacco range the flavours are named by colour rather than description, which is unhelpful until someone explains the pattern. We stock the complete UK line up.

Tobacco. Amber is the classic roasted tobacco and the closest thing to a conventional cigarette. Tan is lighter and drier. Gold sits between the two with a slightly sweeter finish. Ruby carries a red fruit note over a tobacco base.

Menthol and mint. Green is the standard menthol, clean and direct. Green Option adds a capsule you crush partway through to release extra cooling. Azure is a softer mint with a rounder finish. Cobalt is the coldest of the set.

Flavoured. Magenta is berry forward. Purple Option carries a dark fruit capsule you crush mid session to switch the character partway through.

The Option sticks are worth understanding. The capsule sits in the filter, you squeeze it between finger and thumb until it clicks, and the flavour changes for the rest of the session. If you cannot decide between tobacco and menthol, an Option stick lets you have both.

Choosing your first EVO flavour

If you smoked regular cigarettes, start with Amber. If you smoked a lighter or slim cigarette, Tan is the better match. If you smoked menthol, start with Green, or Green Option if you like a strong cooling hit.

Expect the first two or three sticks to taste unfamiliar. There is no combustion note, and that absence reads as weak until the palate adjusts. Almost everyone who dislikes their first stick feels differently by the end of the pack.

Compatibility, what fits what

EVO sticks fit the Ploom X range and nothing else. They will not work in an IQOS, and Terea or HEETS will not work in a Ploom. The heating geometry is different and forcing the wrong stick in will damage the chamber.

If you are switching between systems, you are replacing both device and sticks. There is no adapter.

Using and caring for a Ploom

Insert the stick until it seats, press and hold the button, and wait for the haptic confirmation. A session runs about five minutes or fourteen puffs. Pull the stick straight out at the end rather than twisting it.

Because nothing pierces the tobacco, cleaning is minimal. Wipe the mouthpiece and keep the charging port free of lint. Every few weeks, tip out any loose tobacco from the chamber. That is the entire routine, which is the main practical advantage over blade heated systems.

Ploom compared with IQOS

Both are heated tobacco and both remove combustion. The differences matter more than the similarities.

IQOS has the larger flavour range, the bigger accessory ecosystem and better availability if you travel. Its Iluma line uses induction heating and needs no cleaning either.

Ploom is cheaper to buy, cheaper per stick, and produces a gentler, more even flavour. Owners who have used both usually describe Ploom as smoother and IQOS as stronger. Neither is objectively better and it comes down to which sensation you prefer.

Heated tobacco against vaping and smoking

Against smoking, removing combustion removes the bulk of the harm. Against vaping, heated tobacco carries more risk because you are still heating tobacco leaf rather than a liquid.

If your priority is the lowest risk route off cigarettes, a vape is the better choice, and the NHS guidance on e cigarettes explains the reasoning. See our Elf Bar or Vaporesso ranges if that is your aim. If you have tried vaping and could not settle on it, heated tobacco is a reasonable alternative that many ex smokers stay with long term.

UK law, tax and age rules

EVO sticks are tobacco products in UK law, not vaping products. They carry tobacco duty, they must be sold in standardised packaging with health warnings, and they cannot be displayed openly in retail premises.

The vape rules do not apply. There is no 2ml limit and no 20mg nicotine cap, because those belong to the e cigarette regulations. What does apply is age restriction: you must be 18 or over and we verify this at checkout. The GOV.UK guidance sets out where the boundary between the two categories sits.

What it costs to run

The device is a one off purchase. After that you are buying sticks, and EVO packs are typically priced below both cigarettes and the equivalent IQOS sticks, partly because heated tobacco attracts a lower rate of duty than cigarettes.

For a twenty a day smoker the annual saving is real without being transformative. The stronger arguments are usually the absence of smoke smell and being able to use it in places where a cigarette would be impossible, subject to whoever owns the building.

Ploom FAQs

Is Ploom the same as vaping?

No. Ploom heats real tobacco sticks. A vape heats e liquid. They are regulated and taxed differently.

Can I use IQOS sticks in a Ploom?

No. Terea and HEETS will not work in a Ploom X, and EVO sticks will not work in an IQOS. The systems are not compatible.

How long does a Ploom session last?

About five minutes or fourteen puffs, whichever comes first, which is close to a cigarette.

What are the Option sticks?

They contain a capsule in the filter. Crush it partway through the session to release a second flavour, usually extra menthol or dark fruit.

Does a Ploom need cleaning?

Very little. There is no blade inside, so you only need to wipe the mouthpiece and occasionally tip out loose tobacco.

Do you deliver across the UK?

Yes, tracked UK delivery on all orders. Tobacco is age restricted, so you must be 18 or over. See our returns and refunds policy.

Switching from cigarettes, what to expect

The first difference most people notice is the absence of the throat catch that combustion gives. Tobacco heated rather than burned produces a softer sensation, and for a day or two that can read as insufficient even though nicotine delivery is broadly comparable.

The second is the fixed session. A stick ends after roughly five minutes whether you have finished or not, and there is no relighting. Some people find this genuinely useful because it imposes a natural stopping point that a cigarette never did. Others find it irritating in the first week.

The third is smell, and it is usually the moment the switch sticks. Within a fortnight you will notice cigarette smoke on other people, and on yourself if you go back.

Common mistakes to avoid

Buying the wrong sticks. The most frequent error by far. EVO for Ploom, Terea or HEETS for IQOS, and never interchangeable.

Pushing the stick in too hard. It should seat with light pressure. Forcing it compresses the tobacco and gives a tight, unsatisfying draw for the whole session.

Twisting on removal. Pull straight out. Twisting leaves loose tobacco in the chamber, which then affects the next stick.

Judging it on the first stick. Give it a full pack. Almost nobody enjoys their first one, and most people are settled by the tenth.

Running the battery flat every time. Lithium cells last longer topped up than fully drained.

Who it suits, and who it does not

It suits smokers who have tried vaping and disliked it, usually because the taste was wrong or the draw felt unfamiliar. It suits people who want genuine tobacco flavour and a defined session rather than grazing on a device all day. And it suits anyone who found IQOS too strong, since the Ploom aerosol is noticeably gentler.

It suits you less if you want the lowest risk option, where a vape is clearly better. It suits you less if you want flavour variety, because the range is narrow next to e liquids. And it is not for anyone who has already stopped using nicotine, because these products exist for current smokers.

If your goal is stopping nicotine altogether rather than switching, NHS Better Health runs free local stop smoking services and that is the right place to begin.

Storage and travel

Keep sticks dry and away from heat. Tobacco that has dried out draws harshly and tastes flat, and a pack left on a warm windowsill for a week will not be pleasant.

The device travels in hand luggage on UK flights and must not go in the hold, in line with the rules for all lithium battery items. Check your destination before flying, because several countries restrict or ban heated tobacco outright even where cigarettes remain legal.