What Is Heat-Not-Burn? How It Works for Dry Herb
"Heat-not-burn" (HNB) describes any device that heats material to release an inhalable vapour without setting it on fire. Combustion — ordinary smoking — happens above about 230°C and creates smoke, tar and carbon monoxide. Heat-not-burn stays below that threshold: hot enough to release the active compounds, cool enough to avoid burning. The result is vapour, not smoke.
Heat-not-burn vs smoking vs conduction
- Smoking (combustion): the material burns. Maximum by-products, harshest on the throat, strongest smell.
- Conduction heating: material rests on a hot surface. It's "heat-not-burn" in principle, but uneven contact can scorch the edges and the chamber needs frequent cleaning.
- Convection heating: hot air passes through the material so it heats evenly from all sides — the cleanest, most flavourful form of heat-not-burn, and the approach Omura uses.
Two very different things both called "heat-not-burn"
It's worth clearing up a common mix-up. The phrase "heat-not-burn" is used for two unrelated product categories:
- Tobacco HNB — devices like IQOS or Glo that heat pre-made tobacco sticks. These rely on a conduction heat source and are a tobacco product.
- Dry-herb HNB — devices like Omura that vaporise whole botanical flower using convection.
They aren't interchangeable. Tobacco heat-not-burn sticks will not perform in an Omura vaporiser, and Omura Flowersticks™ are designed for whole flower, not tobacco. If you've arrived here after using an IQOS-style device, the Omura experience is similar in spirit — a clean, smoke-free draw — but built around dry herb and a convection oven.
Why heat-not-burn works so well for dry herb
Whole flower is full of delicate terpenes and cannabinoids that burning destroys. Heating them gently — particularly with convection — preserves flavour and extracts efficiently. Independent testing of the Omura system (SC Labs, California) measured up to 99% extraction of the available terpenes and cannabinoids: you get more from less flower, with a cleaner taste, and none of the combustion by-products.
Omura: heat-not-burn, done simply
Omura's S1, X1 and X1E pair convection heat-not-burn with a sealed consumable. Your flower goes inside a Flowerstick™ — a paper sleeve holding 0.125g — which you fill with the Omura Home Fill System. Insert the stick, and the device runs a three-minute heat-not-burn session along a proprietary heat curve (the X-series offers a taste-led and a potency-led setting).
Because the flower is sealed in paper, no plant matter ever touches the heating element — so the vaporiser never needs cleaning, there's no resin build-up, and there's very little smell. It's heat-not-burn with the maintenance and mess engineered out.
Frequently asked questions
Is heat-not-burn the same as vaping?
For dry herb, yes — a dry herb vaporiser is a heat-not-burn device: it heats flower below combustion to make vapour. (Nicotine "vapes" that heat e-liquid are a different category.)
Is heat-not-burn better than smoking?
It avoids combustion, so no tar or carbon monoxide, less smell, and more efficient use of your flower. It's also the method required for UK prescribed cannabis.
Can I use IQOS or tobacco heat-not-burn sticks in an Omura?
No. Omura's convection system is designed for Omura Flowersticks™ filled with whole flower. Tobacco HNB sticks rely on a conduction heat source and won't perform in an Omura vaporiser.
Try convection heat-not-burn: explore the Omura Series X and Flowersticks™.