A few years back, for a couple of days I was using my cheap iron to light smokes. With it cranked up on max, it would take on the order of 1 minute, of holding the twisted over paper tip, against the iron, for it to smoulder. I didn't kill the iron, but the tip needed sanding.
This reminds me, I don't have a spare heater element for my Hakko, it would be nice to have a replacement on the shelf.