Back in the 60’s, you would have seen cigarettes all over Hollywood. Anyone remember the elegant, young women leaning against a building with a long, white cigarette dangling from their lips. How about cigarettes on commercials or in vending machines. Needless to say, the 60’s have come and gone, and we’re probably better off because cigarettes are not nearly as popularized as they used to be. Most importantly, big tobacco companies don’t have nearly the kind of influence they used to have.
What have big tobacco companies been up to lately? E-Cig Brands has the latest updates. As it turns out, they’re trying to influence the e-cigarette and vaping market. As smokers have begun to pick up vaping in droves, the large tobacco companies have begun to worry. While it may seem contradictory, expanding into the vaping industry might just be the perfect move.
What Influence Does Big Tobacco Have on the Vaping Market?
E-cigs weren’t the first product released on the market to help combat smoking. After all, we’ve all heard of the nicotine patch and nicotine gum, but these were always marketed as pharmaceutical treatments rather than recreational ones. The electronic cigarette is the first product to really challenge the tobacco industry. It’s the only safe product to date that serves as a viable alternative for desperate smokers.
The first signs of the change were subtle. Tobacco companies began to encourage e-cigarette brands selling vape mods and box mods claiming that they wanted a smoke-free world. While we thought the ploy was just a clever marketing trick, it turned out that many tobacco companies actually own electronic cigarette brands.
For instance, Blu, the new line of USB-sized vape pods, is actually owned by Imperial Tobacco. R.J. Reynolds bought the brand from Lorillard, the oldest tobacco company in America, which originally purchased it for $135 million. Likewise, Vype, the British vaporizer company with a variety of sleek, high-powered vape pens, is owned by none other than BAT, British American Tobacco. Ever heard of the e-cigarette brand MarkTen? You guessed it. They’re owned by Altria, which was formerly Phillip Morris. While 80% of e-cig brands continue to be independently owned, the tobacco industry is gaining a strong foothold.
Tobacco companies are even going so far as to fund research. British American Tobacco recently funded a study that used 3-D printing to model the amount of inflammation in the lungs with the use of cigarettes compared e-cigarettes.
Why do Tobacco Companies Want Influence on the E-Cigarette Market?
Ten years ago, no one would have thought that an electronic cigarette would go anywhere. Today though that’s not the case. Global e-cigarette sales amount to about $5 billion per year, and they’re expected to grow 24% in the year 2019 alone. Compared to $92 million in cigarette sales, that’s enormous.
Big tobacco companies can also influence the e-cigarette market in another way. Cigarettes aren’t advertised in the news. The government runs commercials and advertisements, but who knows the tobacco industry better than the tobacco industry itself. Though they lied to us and misled us for years, they know what cigarette smoke will do to your lungs. Who else can advocate for vaping with that level of authority?
Will Vaping Really Be the Next Big Industry?
Vaporizers might become just another product sold at pharmacies and convenience stores. If big tobacco industries pull their weight though, there’s no telling what could happen. The vaping market today is dominated by Chinese-based companies that churn out devices at a mile a minute with rock-bottom prices. With a bit of money though, there’s no telling where the industry could go. Smartphone vaporizers anyone?
Final Thoughts
So, what does this all mean for you? The influence of big tobacco companies on the e-cigarette and vaping industry could actually benefit you in the long run. The truth is, if tobacco companies don’t evolve with the changing times, many of them may be out of business. They’re not the behemoths they once were.
While they still hold a lot of weight, the only way they’ll survive in the coming decades is if they find a new niche. If big tobacco can do their part to support e-cigarettes, they might succeed not only in saving thousands of lives, but in transforming the e-cig industry.