Thanks to tanks, U.S. e-cig sales are even higher than believed

The U.S. e-cigarette market is worth more than previously estimated, thanks in part to increased growth in sales of refillable tank systems while cigalikes also continue to sell well, according to new research from ECigIntelligence.

Refillable tanks are commonly adopted by more experienced e-cigarette users, who are being served by increasingly sophisticated tank hardware and an immense range of flavoured e-liquids, says the comprehensive report on U.S. e-cig market and regulatory trends – available to ECigIntelligence subscribers or for purchase.

There is also a move toward manufacturing of hardware and e-liquids within the U.S., rather than importing from overseas, as consumers become more demanding about where products have been made, the report says.

Noting another sign of concern with product quality, it describes how a number of industry groups are currently working on developing standards for the e-cigarette sector, including voluntary industry-wide good manufacturing practices (GMPs), which will affect both e-liquids and hardware.

These are likely to be brought into effect before the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) implements its deeming regulations, and may therefore influence the FDA in its decision-making process.

What This Means: Standard retail tracking tools, which don’t cover vape stores, undoubtedly overestimate the proportion of the market taken by cigalikes.

But the reason they do this is itself a significant strength of cigalikes: their presence in major mainstream retail outlets. So one of the biggest questions for the industry must be whether the advantages (to the consumer) of more complex systems from lesser-known vendors outweigh the simplicity of sticking with cigalikes – and another is whether mass-market tank-style systems could offer the best of both worlds.

This major ECigIntelligence report on the U.S. e-cigarette sector provides insight into such strategic issues.

– Barnaby Page ECigIntelligence staff

Photo: Pete Markham

Barnaby Page

Editorial director

Before joining ECigIntelligence in early 2014 as one of its first employees, Barnaby had a 30-year career as a reporter and editor for newspapers, magazines and online services, working in Canada, the US and the Middle East as well as his current British location. He has edited publications covering fields including technology and the advertising industry, and was launch editor of the first large daily online news service in the British regional media. Barnaby also writes on classical music and film for a number of publications. Barnaby manages the editorial and reporting teams and works closely with the analyst teams, to ensure that all content meets high standards of quality and relevance. He also writes for the site occasionally, mostly on science-related issues, and is a member of the Association of British Science Writers.