LATEST ALERTS
The e-cig world is changing – we’re just not sure when
16th April 2015 - News analysis |
We review the top e-cigarette industry, policy and science stories of recent weeks.
Companies
Surging sales revenue at ECIG, yet still a six-figure loss
2nd April 2015 - News analysis |
Electronic Cigarettes International Group (ECIG), the U.S. company behind brands such as FIN, Vapestick, Victory and VIP, increased its sales nearly 15-fold during 2014 but still recorded a loss approaching $400m.
Fontem develops caffeine strip; Nicoccino looks beyond nicotine
25th March 2015 - News analysis |
Imperial Tobacco’s Fontem Ventures does not plan to create a nicotine oral strip similar to Nicoccino’s, despite launching a new brand of caffeinated strip called Reon.
If it’s Saturday, this must be Shenzhen (and an e-cig expo)
19th March 2015 - News analysis |
While delegates to this week’s World Conference on Tobacco or Health in Abu Dhabi presumably must decide which of the title’s categories e-cigarettes fall into, those who’ve missed it have another choice to make: just how many of the plethora of e-cig-related events in upcoming months they should attend. The conference in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is quickly followed » Continue Reading.
Sunshine and showers: the top e-cigarette stories in review
10th March 2015 - News analysis |
As the change of seasons edged closer over February and early March, headlines in the e-cigarette sector were a sometimes confusing mix of storm clouds and sunshine.
Pax hoping to set world alight with deluxe heat-not-burn tech
10th March 2015 - News analysis |
Pax Labs, the U.S. heat-not-burn manufacturer previously known as Ploom, today launches a new generation of its namesake device which it is positioning as “the most intelligent, premium and highest performing vaporizer in the market”.
E-cig makers look for weapons to fight back at counterfeiters
24th February 2015 - News analysis |
As counterfeiting and cloning become growing problems for the e-cigarette industry, one German-Russian supplier has issued a cease-and-desist notice to manufacturers and vendors which it claims are marketing rip-off products.
PMI rebranding Altria MarkTen as Solaris for European launch
19th February 2015 - News analysis |
Philip Morris International (PMI) will next month launch Altria’s MarkTen cigalike in Spain, rebranded as Solaris.
Ploom and JTI agree to split up, divide heat-not-burn brands
17th February 2015 - News analysis |
U.S. startup Ploom and its investor Japan Tobacco International (JTI) are to end their relationship and divide Ploom’s products between them.
Californian labelling threats “are meant to create pressure”
17th February 2015 - News analysis |
The Californian nonprofit threatening to sue e-cigarette companies over their product labelling says it hopes to pressure the entire industry into marketing e-cigs that are safer and carry mandatory warnings.
Beleaguered Blu banks on new model, international markets
11th February 2015 - News analysis |
As U.S. tobacco firm Lorillard enters what seem likely to be its last months of independence, executives may be feeling a little relief that the Blu e-cigarette brand will soon be off their hands.
PMI plans further iQOS rollouts; Imperial launches French e-cig
6th February 2015 - News analysis |
Big Tobacco continues to push ahead with e-cigarettes and other mass-market reduced-risk products around the world: just in recent days, Philip Morris International (PMI), Imperial Tobacco and Japan Tobacco have all outlined plans to develop their product offerings.
Totally Wicked targets hearts and minds in TPD conflict
5th February 2015 - Marketing & retailing , News analysis |
UK e-liquid producer Totally Wicked is hoping to drum up support for its challenge to the European Union’s Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) through a new Website.
NJOY is top brand in U.S. stores, while Ten Motives leads in UK
4th February 2015 - Marketing & retailing , News analysis |
The latest analyses of the U.S. and UK e-cigarette markets have put new brands on top. Who leads two of the most important e-cig markets in the world?
Altria believes e-cig consumers are still seeking ideal brands
3rd February 2015 - News analysis |
Marlboro maker Altria, biggest of the U.S. Big Tobacco firms, plans further development of its e-cig products this year – and its CEO believes consumers have not yet settled on their favourite brands.
The e-cig world’s top stories, from Holland to the Pacific
3rd February 2015 - News analysis |
ECigIntelligence looks back at the e-cigarette stories of the last month that you can’t afford to miss.
FAA says air passengers must carry, not check, their e-cigs
26th January 2015 - News analysis |
Are e-cigs and other tobacco substitutes welcome on passenger planes? Are they a danger, an infringement of near-universal strict rules against in-flight smoking, or a benign product that passengers might appreciate?
Controversy deterred Glaxo from entering e-cig market
16th January 2015 - News analysis |
Pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline considered bringing its own e-cigarettes to market but decided the category is “just too controversial”, its CEO has said.
2014 in e-cigs: sound and fury, but what did they signify?
31st December 2014 - News analysis |
A review of the top trends and stories from the year 2014 for the e-cigarette sector.
Investors warned to be on alert for e-cigarette stock scams
24th December 2014 - News analysis |
A U.S. stock market watchdog has warned investors to steer clear of scams involving shares in e-cigarette companies.
Stringent rules on nicotine hamper Australasian market
23rd December 2014 - News analysis |
Regulation is holding the Australasian e-cigarette market far behind other regions.
ECIG’s derailed IPO: industry says it was sad but inevitable
19th December 2014 - News analysis |
The abandonment by Electronic Cigarettes International Group (ECIG) of its IPO was sad for the industry but inevitable, according to e-cigarette executives.
ECIG abandons NASDAQ IPO, citing market conditions
18th December 2014 - News analysis |
Electronic Cigarettes International Group (ECIG) has withdrawn its application for an initial public offering (IPO) on the U.S. NASDAQ stock exchange, but kept the door open for a private offering in the future.
New Liverpool e-liquid factory will be biggest in Europe
4th December 2014 - News analysis |
Europe’s largest outsourced manufacturing facility for nicotine products is to open in the UK city of Liverpool.
Tanks, politics, and “5% risk”: the stories you shouldn’t miss
29th November 2014 - News analysis |
Some recent developments in the e-cig world will likely have an impact long after the more transient triumphs and tussles are forgotten.
Film is “powerful, discreet” alternative to e-cigs and NRT
26th November 2014 - News analysis |
Smokers seeking alternatives to the combustible cigarette face problems that neither e-cigs nor nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) can fully solve, according to the CEO of a Swedish firm which is taking a completely different technology approach.
Reynolds wants “modified risk” status for heat-not-burn Revo
18th November 2014 - News analysis |
U.S. tobacco maker Reynolds American is preparing to test-market a heat-not-burn product which it hopes the regulator will approve as reduced-risk.
Regulation and manufacturing highlighted at European events
10th November 2014 - News analysis |
When policy-makers, scientists and health professionals gather in the august halls of London’s Royal Society for the E-Cigarette Summit this Thursday, it will be just the start of a busy conference season in Europe.
Altria flexes its retail muscle, plans more Nu Mark products
30th October 2014 - News analysis |
Marlboro maker Altria has pushed out its MarkTen e-cig to nearly 80,000 U.S. stores, with more due to start stocking the product soon, and is working with retailers to get maximum exposure on their shelves.
Thanks to tanks, U.S. e-cig sales are even higher than believed
27th October 2014 - News analysis |
The U.S. e-cigarette market is worth more than previously estimated, thanks in part to increased growth in sales of refillable tank systems, according to new research from ECigIntelligence.
Big Tobacco continues its race for the loyalty of U.S. vapers
24th October 2014 - News analysis |
Reynolds American and Lorillard, the two U.S. tobacco giants expected to merge next year, both expressed great expectations for e-cigs in announcing their latest quarterly financials.
Uncertainty over the true value of Kimree’s patent portfolio
16th October 2014 - News analysis |
Kimree, the Chinese e-cigarette manufacturer filing for listing on the U.S. NASDAQ market, has based part of its valuation on a collection of patents. But how valuable are they?
Lorillard and Logic tank systems may grow business for C-stores
16th October 2014 - News analysis |
Two of the biggest U.S. cigalike manufacturers, Lorillard and Logic, have introduced tank systems for the first time.
Banned UK advertisement linked vaping with ice cream
8th October 2014 - News analysis |
Britain’s advertising watchdog has censured e-cigarette maker Ten Motives for a direct mail item which showed an e-cig stuck into an ice cream, saying it was “likely to be appealing to children”.
Chinese manufacturer files to list on NASDAQ
2nd October 2014 - News analysis |
Kimree, a Chinese e-cigarette manufacturer, has filed to list on the US NASDAQ stock exchange under the acronym KREE. It plans to raise around $125m in its initial public offering (IPO) but has not yet released any details on the number of shares it plans to offer or what pricing will be. According to Reuters, » Continue Reading.
Creating a smoking alternative: the inside story of Ploom
30th September 2014 - News analysis |
E-cigarettes and modified-risk tobacco products may change the face of smoking as we know it today. In this article, republished from Tobacco Journal International exclusively for ECigIntelligence readers, Ploom co-founder and chief technology officer Adam Bowen relates the story of “the Ploom experience”. Ploom was based first and foremost on one simple but powerful idea: » Continue Reading.
Not just e-cigs: PMI looks ahead to a reduced-risk tobacco future
17th September 2014 - News analysis |
Things are changing at Philip Morris International (PMI), with new plans for tackling the reduced risk tobacco products sector.
U.S. convenience store market still growing despite tank boom
16th September 2014 - News analysis |
E-cig sales volumes are continuing to grow in U.S. convenience stores as Big Tobacco rolls out its products, although a decline in prices means the value of the sector is dropping.
UK pharma regulator approves cigarette-like vapour device
12th September 2014 - News analysis |
Britain’s medicines regulator has issued a product licence for the nicotine inhaler Voke, which will be sold by British American Tobacco’s subsidiary Nicoventures and looks likely to be the closest pharmaceutically-approved competitor to the e-cigarette.
Lorillard, Zippo go to UK court in feud over Blu brand name
5th September 2014 - News analysis |
Tobacco giant Lorillard has filed an injunction in the UK courts against Zippo Manufacturing, the legendary producer of lighters, seeking to protect its Blu e-cigarette trademarks in Europe.
British e-cig firm earns praise for response to diacetyl crisis
4th September 2014 - News analysis |
The British e-cigarette maker found to have diacetyl in one of its e-liquids handled this week’s ensuing fallout correctly, according to a crisis management expert.
Utah clamps down on “false claims” of e-cig Websites
29th August 2014 - News analysis |
Consumer protection authorities in Utah are threatening online e-cig sellers with nearly $1m in fines over misleading claims and unauthorised credit card charges.
Japan Tobacco “has no e-cigs up its sleeve”, maintains chief exec
26th August 2014 - News analysis |
Japan Tobacco has no plans to acquire more e-cigarette companies or to launch a product in its home territory, the company’s president and CEO has said.
Big Tobacco “could grow e-cig market for independents, too”
26th August 2014 - News analysis |
The increasing presence of Big Tobacco in e-cigarettes could prove to be a significant benefit for the sector, according to Miguel Martin, president of U.S. e-cig firm Logic.
Blu e-cig could be confused with Zippo lighter, says court
21st August 2014 - News analysis |
Zippo Manufacturing, maker of the famous cigarette lighter, has won a round in its worldwide legal dispute over the use of the brand name Blu – also employed by Lorillard for its market-leading e-cigarette.
British firm readies to dispute basis of Europe’s e-cig rules
20th August 2014 - News analysis |
A British e-cigarette supplier is the sector’s first independent to launch a legal challenge against the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD), the EU rules published this year that will regulate the e-cig market in European member states.
ITC targets affluent, aspiring Indians with its first e-cig
15th August 2014 - News analysis |
India’s main tobacco cigarette supplier has launched its first e-cig in two major cities, with the promise of a national rollout to come.
India’s ITC has e-cigs lined up, awaiting government decision
2nd August 2014 - News analysis |
India’s dominant tobacco company is encouraging the government to develop policy on e-cigarettes, and is ready to bring products to market once a regulatory framework is in place, its chairman has said.
Blu still on top, but faltering; Lorillard remains optimistic
31st July 2014 - News analysis |
Lorillard’s brand Blu retains around a 40% share of the U.S. mainstream retail market for e-cigarettes, an enviable position in many categories. But there are signs in the firm’s latest financial results and in measurement data that its ascendance is slowing, and that if Imperial Tobacco takes over the Blu brand as expected early next year, it will not be inheriting an unstoppable market leader.
Reynolds-Lorillard merger could help them lobby on e-cigs
28th July 2014 - News analysis |
merge – Flickr, Michael CoghlanThe Lorillard-Reynolds merger could lead to more consistent lobbying of the U.S. government on e-cigarettes as it blends the interests of the tobacco giants involved, industry executives say.
