Business briefing
The business briefing section offers news and updates from around the vapour industry. It focus mainly on companies and brands, global business, technology advancements and more. In addition, our news stories cover individual company updates, including everything from investment news and legal battles to sales revenue changes. It also covers technological and medical innovations taking place around the world.
Will the suspension of e-liquid tax bring real benefits to Estonia’s vape trade?
Written by ECigIntelligence || 1st April 2021 || Business briefing |
Lawmakers and officials in Estonia are divided over the suspension of collection of tax on e-liquids, which starts today and lasts until December 2022 ...
Imperial ‘on track’ for the year with expected increase in vaping revenue
Written by David Palacios Rubio || 30th March 2021 || Business briefing |
Imperial Brands expects to deliver its yearly objectives for 2021 thanks to anticipated increased revenue from its smoke-free portfolio ...
Upheaval in China as draft e-cigarette regulations threaten massive changes
Written by ECigIntelligence || 25th March 2021 || Business briefing |
A new draft amendment to the Chinese Tobacco Monopoly Law to regulate tobacco-alternative products, including e-cigarettes, as traditional tobacco threatens big changes to the local vapour market, and has already hit share prices ...
Study points finger of blame for lung injury at phytol, not PG – in rats
Written by ECigIntelligence || 19th March 2021 || Business briefing |
It is a truth universally acknowledged that more research is required into the long-term effects of vaping various substances. Not all research, however, is equally valid or useful – and any conclusion drawn from studies on rodents must...
Debate’s unresolved as survey suggests poor info leads to false perception of risk
Written by ECigIntelligence || 17th March 2021 || Business briefing |
How much information the public receives from health authorities about tobacco harm reduction – and how much it helps – is a hot topic of discussion and division between the industry and the scientific community ...
US customs officers seize counterfeit ‘Rick and Morty’ e-liquids worth $1.5m
Written by David Palacios Rubio || 12th March 2021 || Business briefing |
A shipment from the Chinese city of Shenzhen containing more than 77,000 refillable e-liquids featuring popular US sitcom Rick and Morty have been seized by customs officials at Chicago O’Hare’s International ...
Italy to fight smuggling and illegal sales with new tax stamps for e-liquids
Written by ECigIntelligence || 8th March 2021 || Business briefing |
The Italian Customs and Monopoly Agency (ADM) is to strengthen controls against illegal marketing of vaping products with a system of tax stamps ...
US trade officials demand e-cigarette firms reveal sales and advertising data
Written by ECigIntelligence || 2nd March 2021 || Business briefing |
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has asked five leading e-cigarette manufacturers to disclose their 2019 and 2020 data on sales, advertising and promotional expenditures ...
Warning as vape stores in England are told not to reopen before mid-April
Written by ECigIntelligence || 23rd February 2021 || Business briefing |
UK prime minister Boris Johnson has announced that vape stores in England should not reopen before 12th April – while the industry continues to demand that they should be considered essential businesses ...
BAT enjoys 52% increase in vapour revenue as overall figures slip back
Written by David Palacios Rubio || 18th February 2021 || Business briefing |
British American Tobacco (BAT) has reported a "strong performance" of its e-cigarette business in 2020, with vapour revenue up more than 50% on the previous year and growth accelerating ...
FDA warning letters are the final straw for some as US businesses close
Written by ECigIntelligence || 15th February 2021 || Business briefing |
Vaping companies across the US are under pressure, with some going out of business and others saying they face a struggle to survive, as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) tightens the regulatory screw ...
German study finds most e-liquids lack appropriate safety instructions
Written by ECigIntelligence || 8th February 2021 || Business briefing |
Research conducted by the regional government of Baden-Württemberg in Germany has found that 86% of vaping products inspected did not fully comply with existing labelling and packaging regulations ...
Imperial to pursue a ‘more concentrated’ market approach to vaping sector
Written by David Palacios Rubio || 28th January 2021 || Business briefing |
Imperial Brands has announced a substantial change in strategy towards its vapour segment, with more focused investment in its Blu e-cigarette brand ...
Podcast: Global predictions and analysis of the e-cigarette sector for 2021
Written by ECigIntelligence || 22nd January 2021 || Business briefing , Podcasts |
Tim Phillips, ECigIntelligence’s managing director, joins Jon Bruford to discuss the key developments coming up in 2021 and the drivers that shape the market – including the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak, shifts in consumer preferences and...
Relx aims to raise $1bn in US stock sale amid concerns over regulation and tariffs
Written by David Palacios Rubio || 21st January 2021 || Business briefing |
China’s leading e-cigarette company, Relx, is hoping to raise up to $1.17bn from a US initial public offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange ...
‘Beyond nicotine’ – BAT launches new CBD Vuse e-liquids in the UK
Written by ECigIntelligence || 15th January 2021 || Business briefing |
British American Tobacco (BAT) has launched CBD e-liquids compatible with its Vuse device onto the British market as part of the company’s plan to expand its portfolio into new areas “beyond nicotine” ...
New pictorial warnings come into force in South Korea, but tax hike is averted
Written by ECigIntelligence || 13th January 2021 || Business briefing |
E-cigarette products marketed in South Korea must now meet new packaging requirements, including disturbing new graphic warnings – but the threat of big tax rises has been set aside for now ...
Chinese e-cigarette leader Relx moves towards $100m US stock market launch
Written by ECigIntelligence || 6th January 2021 || Business briefing |
The leading Chinese e-cigarette brand Relx has taken the first formal steps toward an initial public offering (IPO) in the US ...
2020: the year of flavour bans, Juul cases, taxation, China – and that other thing
Written by Aidan Semmens || 30th December 2020 || Business briefing |
Who isn’t glad to see the back of 2020? ECigIntelligence looks back on what a generally cataclysmic year has meant for the world of e-cigarettes, from flavour bans to taxation, with Juul in the dock and China on...
UK vaping industry gives a cautious welcome to last-ditch Brexit deal
Written by David Palacios Rubio || 24th December 2020 || Business briefing |
The British vaping industry has broadly welcomed the agreement reached on Christmas Eve between the UK and EU over the trade relations the two parties will enjoy from 1st January ...
China’s e-cig market faces the possible threat of a government change of heart
Written by ECigIntelligence || 16th December 2020 || Business briefing |
A major new report from ECigIntelligence examines the Chinese vapour market and finds it could be threatened by a possible government crackdown – and the spectre of a takeover by the giant China Tobacco monopoly ...
Podcast: E-cigarettes in China: market, regulation and outlook
Written by ECigIntelligence || 15th December 2020 || Business briefing , Podcasts |
China’s domestic e-cigarette market has quietly grown to become the world’s third largest by value. With relatively low vaping prevalence, high smoking rates, and a huge population, it has significant potential for further growth. But it is also...
Italy’s small vape businesses welcome association’s planned retail network
Written by ECigIntelligence || 15th December 2020 || Business briefing |
Hundreds of vaping businesses have shown interest in a new project launched by the main Italian industry association to support and promote e-cigarette retail and create a network of vaping suppliers ...
Bid to ban flavours in New Brunswick raises hackles in Canadian vape trade
Written by ECigIntelligence || 1st December 2020 || Business briefing |
New legislation tabled in the New Brunswick provincial legislature to ban flavours in e-liquids has caused alarm among Canada’s vaping industry ...
Vaping product trends in the US
Written by ECigIntelligence || 19th November 2020 || Business briefing |
Carlo Infurna Wangüemert, market analyst, presented vaping product trends in the US at Vape Live during VOXPO – Virtual Online Vape & CBD Expo on 19th November. He analysed the changes in flavour and nicotine concentration of the...
Imperial to be more ‘prudent’ after tobacco-alternatives revenues slip
Written by ECigIntelligence || 17th November 2020 || Business briefing |
Imperial Brands has revealed that net revenue from its next-generation portfolio declined by 27% in the year to September and announced that it will take a “more prudent approach” in its business model from now on ...
European surveys back up smoking cessation aim in e-cigarette users
Written by Lorraine Mullaney || 13th November 2020 || Business briefing |
A new survey reveals that 80% of Europeans who switched to e-cigarettes to quit their habit have succeeded ...
Opinion: ECigIntelligence smells a rat in bad science on e-cigs and COVID-19
Written by Marc Beishon || 9th November 2020 || Business briefing |
Marc Beishon, former editor of New Scientist magazine, takes recent examples of bad science to task for misrepresenting the supposed dangers of e-cigarettes, including unfounded links with COVID-19 ...
Montana’s newly elected governor a ‘major win’ for the e-cig industry
Written by David Palacios Rubio || 5th November 2020 || Business briefing |
Montana’s newly elected governor – a business-friendly Republican replacing an anti-vaping Democrat – has received the blessing of the state’s e-cigarette industry ...
Vape industry warns of 50% sales drop as second lockdown begins in England
Written by ECigIntelligence || 5th November 2020 || Business briefing |
Industry insiders have called for vape stores to be classed as essential outlets as all non-essential shops in England are ordered to close for a month under the terms of the country’s second lockdown ...
JT launches new tobacco vapour device amid segment revenue decline
Written by David Palacios Rubio || 2nd November 2020 || Business briefing |
Japan Tobacco (JT) has launched in the domestic market a new tobacco-infused vapour device “Ploom TECH+ with” a few days after the manufacturer posted less revenue for its reduce-risk portfolio in the third quarter of the year ...
France investigates vaping market to detect and correct inconsistencies
Written by David Palacios Rubio || 29th October 2020 || Business briefing |
New research from the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES) has indicated the positives and negatives of the vaping market in the country, and highlighted those areas for future investigation ...
US FDA wants to identify ‘concerning’ trends in vaping device problems
Written by ECigIntelligence || 27th October 2020 || Business briefing |
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has increased the amount of mandatory information required to report a problem with an e-cigarette device in order to “identify new or concerning trends” ...
Hard-line Australia has precautionary principle all wrong, study suggests
Written by ECigIntelligence || 23rd October 2020 || Business briefing |
Regulators need to consider the risks of the precautionary measures they implement, and not just the risks they are trying to avoid, according to researchers studying Australian e-cigarette regulation ...
Government concludes German e-liquids are vitamin E free, but warns about THC
Written by ECigIntelligence || 22nd October 2020 || Business briefing |
A study concludes that e-liquids marketed in Germany do not contain potential concerning chemicals and additives such as vitamin E acetate, but warned about high levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in some of them ...
ASH blames ‘mistaken belief in harm’ for 11% drop in number of British vapers
Written by ECigIntelligence || 16th October 2020 || Business briefing |
The number of e-cigarette users in Great Britain declined by 400,000 between 2019 and 2020, according to new research by the public health charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) ...
Cochrane evidence review supports nicotine e-cigs for smoking cessation
Written by ECigIntelligence || 15th October 2020 || Business briefing |
Nicotine e-cigarettes can be more effective than other more traditional methods in helping smokers to quit the habit for at least six months, the latest Cochrane review of the subject has concluded ...
Australian pharmacists ready to take up central role in e-cigarette distribution
Written by David Palacios Rubio || 13th October 2020 || Business briefing |
Pharmacists across Australia are waiting for more details after the announcement by the country’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) that they would be exclusive distributors of prescribed e-cigarettes ...
Imperial’s revenue from tobacco alternatives down 30% from last year
Written by David Palacios Rubio || 9th October 2020 || Business briefing |
Imperial Brands has revealed that the company’s net revenue from its next-generation portfolio is around 30% down on 2019, while overall company revenue remains flat ...
US school districts sue Juul for alleged ‘fraudulent marketing to children’
Written by ECigIntelligence || 7th October 2020 || Business briefing |
More than 100 school districts across the US have joined in suing Juul Labs, accusing the company of “intentional and fraudulent marketing to children” ...
E-cigarettes are likely to reduce harm but not without risk, says UK science panel
Written by ECigIntelligence || 5th October 2020 || Business briefing |
Switching from smoking to vaping is likely to reduce harm to health but could still have risks, while flavours represent an area of further uncertainty, an independent UK government science committee has concluded ...
Repeal of shake and vape ban brings relief to Greek vaping industry
Written by ECigIntelligence || 29th September 2020 || Business briefing |
The Greek e-cigarette industry is largely “satisfied” with the government’s decision to repeal the law banning shake and vape products – but doubts and difficulties remain ...
EU: evidence to support e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation tool ‘weak’
Written by David Palacios Rubio || 25th September 2020 || Business briefing |
A leading EU scientific committee says evidence “for the support of electronic cigarettes' effectiveness in helping smokers to quit” is weak, and has warned about nicotine addiction in young people ...
Juul chief calls for ‘advantageous’ regulation for tobacco alternatives
Written by ECigIntelligence || 23rd September 2020 || Business briefing |
Juul Labs chairman and CEO Kevin Crosthwaite has warned that regulatory efforts to curb e-cigarette use risk tipping the balance back in favour of more dangerous combustible cigarettes ...
Concerned US vape stores diversify in response to FDA’s PMTA regulation
Written by Lorraine Mullaney || 22nd September 2020 || Business briefing |
US vape stores are diversifying into CBD and oral nicotine, while others fear being blamed by customers for reduced choice as FDA premarket tobacco product regulations cause products to disappear from the shelves ...
An insight into how COVID-19 influences the nicotine market – where are we now?
Written by JuditBach || 18th September 2020 || Business briefing |
Our managing director, Tim Phillips, recently discussed how COVID-19 influences the nicotine market at the Nicotine Cannabis Strategies Europe, which took place online on 10th September. Tim presents the COVID-19 and EVALI impact on the market and on...
How EVALI, and the way it was reported, damaged perceptions of vaping
Written by ECigIntelligence || 18th September 2020 || Business briefing |
Many smokers believe vaping is at least as harmful as combustible cigarettes, despite e-cigarettes’ lower production of toxicants and carcinogens; researchers in England have been examining why ...
E-cigarette use by US school students falls by a third in a year, CDC reports
Written by David Palacios Rubio || 10th September 2020 || Business briefing |
New official data shows that the number of young people in the US who are current e-cigarette users has fallen sharply, from 5.4m in 2019 to 3.6m this year ...