The Foundation for “A Smoke-Free World” has recently released its report on the global nicotine ecosystem and is setting out a baseline for its work to come. The report is necessary to develop effective policies which help to reduce harm and cess smoking globally, states the report.
Charles Gardner, the director of this Foundation, had announced the report. In his announcement, he had stated that vaporizers and vaping products are the fastest growing product category, but overall, conventional cigarettes remain as the dominant nicotine delivery vehicle worldwide, with exceptions such as India, Sweden, and Norway.
The report also states that harm-reduction devices and heat, not burn, devices are still new, but their role in the usage of clean nicotine is still being debated fiercely worldwide. This happens on a daily basis, with researches contradicting each other, it’s a quit smoking tool, it’s a trap for youths and teens!
A crucial part of the report to take note of is that despite the falling sales of cigarettes worldwide, the actual value of the sales is higher due to the increases in the price. At the same time, the volume of vaping products sold rose by almost 16 percent, making the market almost worth $9 billion dollars.
The consumption of electronic cigarettes is growing rapidly in selected markets due to the different laws, sales channels, taxes, and other limiting factors. The Foundation also recognizes that Big Tobacco only holds an estimated 21 percent of the market, and the real value is difficult to assess. This is because sales of electronic cigarettes occur from many different distribution channels including physically, online, and such.
It also highlights that vaping is an ongoing innovation, meaning that new products are coming forward constantly to disrupt the tobacco industry. In China, the sales of electronic cigarettes are off the charts. This is not surprising, seeing as China was the first one to come out with commercial electronic cigarettes. Close to 90 percent of vaping devices and vaporizers are all manufactured in China, while the e-liquids tend to be produced domestically.
Many people wonder why there are so many reports and “health experts” opposing vaping. Understand that vaping’s enemy is not just the tobacco giants, it is also the pharmaceutical companies who are against them. A single look at the graph comparing the sales of vaping products to nicotine replacement therapies is one of the main reasons why.
Smoking cessation aids have long been chided for their non-effectiveness, and the rise of vaping will ultimately kill them all off, including nicotine patches, gums, and such. More research on whether electronic cigarettes are displacing the traditional cessation assistance may need to be conducted. A research on how the impact this may have in the long term also needs to be studied.