“all-synthetic aerosol to replace tobacco smoke, if necessary … I know this sounds like a wild programme, but I’ll bet that the first company to produce a cigarette claiming a substantial reduction in tars and nicotine … will take the market.” (Philip Morris,1958)

It's interesting that idea is exactly what we are talking about today.

RJR tried doing smokeless cigarettes in the 80s and 90s but they apparently tasted like a fart. They still sold them up until 2015. It seems to work somewhat like a hookah, a hot carbon tip is used to heat air before it passes over the tobacco. Supposedly these kinds of cigarettes were the only ones you could still consume in the RJR office.