New from Steve K's Vaping World:
Welcome my friends to the gathering of this week’s e-cigarette news items. This week, thankfully, the CDC news laid down enough to allow some other stories to seep through the woodwork. There’s a little bit of everything going on, so I’ll just get out of your way and let you get to the news readin’
e-Cigarette Charging Fire in the UK
An e-cigarette caught fire in the UK town of Darlington while charging overnight. Thankfully, there were no injuries as the owner of the device was sleeping in an adjacent room and was able to have her family evacuate while firefighters extinguished the small blaze. In the UK e-cigarettes are actually regulated by consumer safety rules. The device was taken for inspection to determine the cause of the failure.
A Darlington Borough Council spokeswoman said officers will be visiting the stallholder to find out where the product came from and to get further samples for testing.
“Findings from this will let us know if it is a one-off faulty item or if there is a design fault with the product. We will then take appropriate action,” she said.
“Any electrical item can develop a fault. As a general safety rule, we would advise people to follow the instructions supplied with the product and not to leave any electrical device, including mobile phones, unattended when it is being charged.”
Sound advice. It will be interesting to see if the findings lead to any conclusions that might help general product safety worldwide.
TVECA Apparently Taking the Lead in eCig Safety
The recent spat of unfortunate e-cigarette charging incidents have caught the eye of the Consumerist. A reporter for the site asked the question, what is being done to prevent these unfortunate problems. As part of the article, they asked the e-cigarette industry. In this case, that means the TVECA, which pointed out these incidents are a very small portion of the number of electronic cigarettes on the market. The TVECA spokesperson also claimed that the group was seeking improvements in the industry.
Is Anything Being Done To Prevent Exploding E-Cigarettes?
Given its previous claims that it didn’t know of explosions and fires related to e-cigarettes, we went back to TVECA to see what, if anything, the industry was doing to minimize the odds of future incidents.
“We at the TVECA push for regulation that requires companies to purchase products with GMP (good manufacturing practices) standards,” a rep for the organization tells Consumerist. “We request that these companies also carry liability insurance on all products sold. We work diligently with government agencies to implement these rules so that we can create a responsible and stable industry.”
The rep did attempt to downplay the prevalence of the issue, pointing to the millions of e-cigs sold and used without incident, though he did admit that even the few incidents that have occurred are not acceptable.
Well, I’m glad that’s all settled then. Somehow I think the only regulation that would come down would not be great for the industry, so it may be time for the industry to do something about the issue.
Businessweek on the Growth of B&M Vape Shops
Local e-cigarette stores have been sprouting up across the country like wildflowers lately. This has not gone unnoticed in the business world. Business Week ran an article about the phenomenon noting that these shops are now occupying space once populated by small businesses that fell during the great recession. The TVECA notes in the piece that these shops may be better suited to handle the upcoming regulations that may make a ghost town of virtual internet storefronts.
Healthy Markups on E-Cigarettes Turn Vacant Storefronts Into ‘Vape Shops’
Some regulations, including a potential ban on Internet sales, could help brick-and-mortars. The TVECA estimates that physical stores will sell more than $1 billion in vaping equipment and products this year. If online sales, estimated around $500 million in 2013, move offline next year, many of those independent retailers could benefit, the group says.
I’m sure if there are online restrictions, these shops may benefit along with Big Tobacco. Of course consumers who don’t happen to be around a local shop with a good stock, as well as businesses that can’t make the leap to physical world will be left out in the cold.
Some eCig Companies Actively Lobbying for Online Restrictions?
Forbes took on the e-cigarettes current regulatory uncertainty in a recent article. The piece looked at the fine line that some e-cigarette companies are walking. In particular, the article looked at two companies that are independent from Big Tobacco but have a considerable retail presence. These companies want to avoid heavy taxes and state red tape while trying to influence the FDA to put in place online sales restrictions to get independents out of the picture.
Will Taxes And Regulation Rein In The Booming E-Cigarette Market?
Maisel, who came up in the beer and liquor distribution business in Mobile, Alabama, hired the marketing genius behind New Belgium Brewing’s Fat Tire brand to create the FIN brand and said he expects $60 million in sales this year. FIN is the leading e-cig brand at Wal-Mart, he said, and is distributed in 50,000 stores nationwide. Like [LOGIC president] Martin, he won’t protest controls on Internet sales – which not incidentally would hurt smaller competitors the most.
The industry has even hired a high-profile health advocate to try and steer the FDA regulation its way: Charles Connor, past president of the American Lung Association. Connor told me he signed on as a consultant to the Electronic Cigarette Industry Group because he thinks e-cigs “might actually help people get off cigarettes.” His mother was a lifelong smoker who died of smoking-related illness last year, Connor said, and he’s proud of helping to get the cigarette industry under government regulation.
While it seems that the mysterious ECIG industry group struck its wording about eliminating online sales from its website, the notion is very much part of the philosophy.
SFATA Delays DC Fly-in by a Month
The e-cigarette trade group SFATA was planning to do a “fly-in” this week to speak with lawmakers and regulators on behalf of the industry and consumers. However, the group decided under the circumstances, it may be best to delay things until November when, hopefully, the nation will be back on track in its own lovable dysfunctional way.
SFATA’s First-Ever Fly-In Event Rescheduled For November
Since the House of Representatives and Senate have not been able to reach an agreement to fund the federal government and President Obama’s Affordable Care Act, Washington D.C.’s elected officials focus and attention has been reassigned to finding a solution to this urgent national matter. Until elected officials agree on a budget and bill that will reinstate more than 800,000 federal jobs in the United States and fund the governments new healthcare law, SFATA members believe it is in the e-cigarette businesses best interest to postpone this event for another month. SFATA does not want to host such a monumental event in the mist of a government meltdown, as it may affect the turn out of elected officials as well as the final outcome of the entire two-day event.
I know many of us were looking forward to getting some kind of word from the capital to see how things are stacking up. Hopefully we’ll still do that. Whether or not the November meeting will have the additional context of FDA draft regulations being published is anyone’s guess at this point.
Inventor of 1963 eCig Still Involved with Industry
The good guys over at the Ashtray Blog have pulled off one heck of a coup in the world of e-cigarette industry interviews. The site just published an interview with Herbert Gilbert, the man who in 1963 invented a device that can be seen as the ancestor of modern e-cigarette technology. In fact, Gilbert claims that e-cigarettes as we know them wouldn’t be possible without the concepts he came up with 50 years ago.
An Interview with the Inventor of the Electronic Cigarette, Herbert A Gilbert
JD: How does your design differ from the current electronic cigarette?
HG: There is no electric cigarette today, that I have seen, that does not follow the basic road map set forth in my original patent. If you remove any part shown in my original patent from their electric cigarette it will not function. It may be positioned differently, sized differently, controlled differently…but…it still follows the road map set forth in my patent drawings.
Gilbert currently works with an outfit called Emperor e-cigarettes which produces a model called the 1963. Unfortunately for Mr. Gilbert his patents have long expired. So while Hon Lik may be upset he’s not making the kind of money he deserves, imagine how Herbert A. Gilbert must feel.
UK Taxi Drivers Protesting e-Cig Rules
Taxi drivers as well as towncar drivers are getting together in the town of St. Helens for a little protest. The hubub is over the licensing rules regarding e-cigarettes which were adopted this past April. Drivers caught using e-cigarettes or allowing passengers to do so face stiff fines and will get pulled off the street even after a first offense.
St Helens taxi drivers set to protest at ‘Draconian’ e-cig licensing conditions
“If a driver or a passenger is caught with an electronic cig in the cab we get punished under the smoke free regulations and fined £50 for breaking the law which we understand. Yet for a first offence we are put in front of the licensing committee and face being out off the road for one week.
“For a repeat offence a driver recently had his badge taken off him for four weeks. We’re all struggling and working longer hours for a lot less than we earned 10 years ago. Yet in Liverpool taxi drivers who are handed a £60 penalty get the fine reduced to £30 if paid promptly.”
This rule was put in place because e-cigarettes might look like smoking and it would be too hard for drivers to tell the difference. The licensing body apparently thinks cabbies can’t tell the difference between e-cigarette vapor and cigarette smoke so they lumped everything in the same rule. Maybe those little pine tree air fresheners work really well at smoking cigarette smoke.
It Ain't Easy Being the Inventor of the e-Cigarette
With the e-Cigarette industry expected to draw close to the $2 billion mark this year, you’d expect the guy who kicked the whole thing off to be sitting pretty right about now. Apparently, things aren’t so rosy for Hon Lik, the man credited with inventing the modern e-cigarette in 2003. According to a recently published article, the godfather of vaping hasn’t made a whole lot of cash from the deal despite selling the original e-cigarette patents to Imperial Tobacco for $75 million recently. It seems there’s been all sorts of troubles cashing in on the invention from government interference to China’s infamous copycat manufacturing sector.
China’s e-cigarette inventor fights for financial rewards
After a year spent perfecting the design, he said, sales took off and by 2006 Ruyan was “producing 24 hours a day with demand still exceeding supply”.
But that same year, media reports that described his products as addictive and causing heart attacks dented sales.
China’s tobacco sales administration accused the company of irresponsible advertising and recommended Beijing shops stop selling its products.
Hon said China’s state-run tobacco industry — a powerful lobby that contributes as much as 10 percent to total government revenues, according to the US-based Brookings Institution — was wary of the competition.
Even the buyout by Imperial won’t net Hon Lik much, since apparently despite being the CEO of Dragonite, he doesn’t have a large share of the company. The good news is that Imperial is keeping him on as an advisor, so it’s unlikely he’s living in a van down by the river or anything.
NY: Let's Enact Public Vaping Ban Because, Kids
Oh New York, you rascal. You already ban e-cigarette sales to minors. I guess you didn’t want to miss out on the media feeding frenzy over the alleged crisis of youth vaping in the tens of billions. So, it’s understandable that you forgot all about it when one of your assembly representatives tried to drum up support for a public use e-cigarette ban. It’s for the kids, y’know.
New legislation would increase regulations on electronic cigarettes
“My main concern is we passed these laws telling you where you can and cannot smoke,” Galef said. “Since then there’s no smoking in places like railroad stations, children’s playgrounds and hospitals. Smoking in any of these places visually demeans what has been done, it’s counterproductive and we find more young people gravitating to e-cigarettes.”
Along with the chemical effects of e-cigs, the safety of the devices has also been called into question. When charging, the device’s battery heats up similar to that of a cell phone or computer.
“Just this week an incident occurred in Utah involving the explosion of an electronic cigarette which was being used by a woman driving her car, resulting in burns to a child in the back seat,” Galef said.
Bonus points for getting on the bandwagon over exploding chargers. That one seemed to be eclipsed by the youth survey news that the prohibitionists are rallying behind.
Spanish Doctors Forgot how to Doctor
A recent article claims that a group of Spanish lung doctors have come out against e-cigarettes. The assertion is that e-cigarettes have the same harmful effects as toxic cigarettes. That claim is apparently based on the study that found airway constriction when subjects used an e-cigarette.
Spanish doctors say e-cigarettes no safer than the real thing
However, now a top Spanish medical association is saying that users of the e-cigarettes are likely to suffer exactly the same short-term health effects with them as they would with regular tobacco cigarettes.
Doctors are warning that “some identical substances” in the vapor of e-cigarettes cause our lungs to react in exactly the same way as with regular cigarettes.
Effects on respiratory level were observed in a recent study, which evaluated the impact of e-cigarette use on lung function for 10 minutes, in non-smokers and healthy smokers and those with asthma and chronic, obstructive pulmonary disease.
To be honest I’m not sure if the doctors’ group is making that claim or the article’s author is editorializing. Either way, if the airway construction found in the study in question was more than the constriction one gets from breathing in humid environments, it’s still nowhere near the impact of smoking, even in the short term.
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Exaggerating Prohibitionists in MA
Over in Massachusetts, a state where many localities seem to have a distaste for e-cigarettes, the state is considering age restrictions and a use ban. It seems most people agree that age restrictions are a good idea. However, prohibitionists gonna try to prohibit. This time they’re not only preaching unfounded accusations as gospel, but giving the industry a huge boost in sales (in their minds).
New rules for e-cigarettes could be delayed
Big tobacco companies are intentionally marketing to teens with catchy names, flavors and advertising, those pushing for restrictions said.
Use among youth has doubled in the last year, according to Kevin O’Flaherty, director of advocacy of Northeast region for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. By the end of 2013, approximately 1.7 billion nicotine delivery products will be sold in the United States.
“This is what the industry is trying to do. They are trying to undo your progress, gets kids addicted and smoke more,” O’Flaherty told lawmakers.
Did you catch that? 1.7 billion products. That’s just a tad high. Analysts predict the market may hit 1.7B dollars. Since most products don’t cost a buck, the actual number of devices in circulation is considerably lower than the number given. But, then again, facts are more or less either in the way or there to be made up, so what’s a 10-100 times increase in the number of products among friends?
Lorillard Acquires 2nd eCig Company
Tobacco giant Lorillard is apparently collecting e-cigarette companies. The maker of Newports announced in a press release that it made a deal to scoop up UK ecig brand SkyCig for 30 million GBP (pocket change in big tobacco money). There may be an additional 30 mil up for grabs based on performance requirements in the future. This makes the 2nd such purchase for the tobacco company after last year’s landmark blu Cigs deal.
Lorillard, Inc. Acquires British-based SKYCIG, Expanding its Electronic Cigarette Business
Lorillard, Inc. (NYSE: LO), the third largest manufacturer of cigarettes in the United States, announced today that it has acquired all of the assets and operations of SKYCIG®, a British-based electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) business for approximately £30 million in cash paid at closing and additional contingent consideration of up to an additional £30 million to be paid in 2016 based on the achievement of certain financial performance benchmarks.
The acquisition provides Lorillard with a major UK electronic cigarette brand and, along with its leading U.S. electronic cigarette brand – blu eCigs®, a global presence in the rapidly growing worldwide e-cigarette category. SKYCIG is expected to benefit from Lorillard’s significant sales, marketing, regulatory, research and development expertise to further strengthen its competitive position in the UK e-cigarette market.
It’s an interesting move with Blu already being a global brand. Of course with ecig companies going that cheap, it’s probably easier to just snap up a local and have on the ground expertise ready to go. The question is will Lorillard take a similar stance to BAT supporting the EU’s TPD? Also, if Lorillard is on a buying spree, I know a great blog they can snap up for a song (in tobacco dollars).
Financial Types See Regulation Good for Big Tobacco Bad for Upstarts
Despite all the saber rattling about big tobacco hooking kids on e-cigarettes, we all know how utterly untrue that is. So do people who know money. Charles Sizemore pointed out on his investment site that burdensome regulation will be insurmountable for most small players. But, for big tobacco who’ve years of experience with some of the most stringent regulation around, the new world of e-cigarette regulation will be a cakewalk for Big T.
Is the E-Cigarette Revolution Getting Stubbed Out?
We should have seen this coming. Call it an adaptation of Maslow’s Hammer: If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. After four decades of aggressively attacking tobacco smoking as a social ill, it its natural that regulators will clamp down on something that “looks like tobacco,” even if it is smokeless and likely no more harmful than my (admittedly excessive) coffee habit.
What does this mean for the industry?
Ironically, it’s modestly good news for Big Tobacco. Regulation should slow down the trend of smokers ditching their cigarettes for e-cigs. And within the e-cig universe, Big Tobacco will have a massive advantage over smaller upstarts. Altria knows a thing or two about navigating rough regulatory seas. They can transfer that knowledge to their Mark Ten e-cig brand far more easily than a new upstart brand can learn it.
Yep, I sure feel like we’re about to get nailed.
Totally Wicked Gets its House in Order
UK e-cigarette company Totally Wicked has hired an outside accounting firm. The firm will audit the company and help get its operations in order. The company has grown considerably since its 2008 launch, but expects significant growth, hence bringing the firm on board to help them prepare.
Wicked partnership for Blackburn firm’s accounts
“Operating in a rapidly growing industry like this brings its own challenges and we were keen to bring Pierce on board to offer support as we continue our growth plans.”
Simon Diggle, associate director at Pierce said: “Pierce has a strong track record for advising the manufacturing and retail sectors, and we were delighted to be approached by Totally Wicked.
It seems like e-cigarette companies across the pond are getting their ducks in a row. They’ll need to if the TPD becomes a reality since greasing the wheels of medical regulation ain’t cheap.
Footballer Launches 150 GBP e-Cigarette
Ok world, watch as I, an American, proudly display my ignorance of international sports. A sports website recently announced that famous soccer player (see, I just pissed off Equador right there) Stephen Ireland will be kicking off his own e-cigarette line with his girlfriend. Apparently the lineup will offer something with a little bling: a gold-plated model that retails for 150 GBP.
Stephen Ireland ‘launches brand of E-cigarettes’
The 27-year-old, who was previously criticised by former Aston Villa manager Alex McLeish after he was spotted smoking on a shisha pipe two years ago, has released the product in bars across the UK.
Ireland, who has taken on the venture with his girlfriend Jessica Lawlor, has also produced a £150 gold-plated e-cigarette in a leather-bound case, according to the Daily Star.
See, and here you thought there were differences in sports across the world. No matter what the sport called “football” in your country actually involves, decadent professional athletes are everywhere.
Well Played, HuffPo
The Huffington Post has long been a fan of bashing e-cigarettes. I briefly had hope today as I saw a headline come across from the UK edition that read “Time to Embrace The E-Cigarette.” Granted, this is the UK edition and it’s written by some random blog contributor, it looked hopeful. Then I read the article.
Time to Embrace The E-Cigarette
Judicious and balanced regulation is still necessary though. Now advocates of e-cigs are quick to suggest that any form of government regulation would stymie the adoption by potential vapor users. The real question they should be asking is: Who should e-cigs be intended for? Presently unregulated by the FDA, firms are marketing the products especially aimed towards kids with flavored versions including cotton candy and bubble gum. This shouldn’t be allowed to occur. Any addictive substance from alcohol to nicotine must be kept out of the mouths of kids. But any regulation which does occur must be carefully balanced in case it smothers any chance of adult smokers transitioning to the device.
Well, crap. Fool me once…
Gamucci eCigs on Massive Fundraising Spree
UK-based e-cigarette company Gamucci has enlisted the help of an investment bank for its next round of fundraising. The company is looking to grab about 20 million GBP in a first round of financing. The company ultimately hopes to raise up to 100 million. In addition, Gamucci has also lured former tobacco execs to its company. It seems the company is looking to break into the big leagues in a major way.
Bank appointed for Gamucci’s E-cigarette fundraising round
The investment bank said it expects e-cigarettes will be the “most significant development in the history of the organised tobacco industry”.
Gamucci was founded in 2007 by brothers Taz and Umer Sheikh, and the company now operates in 20 countries.
This year Gamucci has recruited five former tobacco executives into senior positions, including new chief executive Tony Scanlan who has 17 years of experience with Rothmans International.
It looks like the company really wants to get ahead of the market in a big way. Of course with medical regulations coming to the UK and the EU, this kind of scratch may be just table stakes in future e-cigarette companies looking to qualify their products.
Telling the Vapers' Side of the Story
With so many media outlets having a field day with the current coordinated attacks on e-cigarettes, it was nice to see the feature in a Chattanooga paper. In the article, the writer actually bothered to go out and talk to people deeply involved in the industry as consumers. The article interviewed the proprietors of local shops as well as vaping community personality Dimitris Agrafiotis of the Vape Team fame. Each person interviewed pointed out the importance of flavors. Flavors are key to help people transition from smoking to vaping.
‘Vaper’: E-cig users see them as a less-harmful alternative
Agrafiotis says adults like fruit flavors, too, and if the FDA is truly concerned that the fruit flavors are being used to target young people, they also should be banned from coffee, creamers, vodka and Nicorette, an FDA-approved smoking cessation product.
Timothy Lanier, a 28-year-old who switched to e-cigs after more than 10 years of smoking, says he and other vapers don’t want to come off as proselytizers on the wonders of e-cigs for children or non-smokers. They direct their comments to smokers who want to quit.
Throughout the article, each person interviewed pointed out that e-cigarettes are safer than smoking, but not necessarily completely safe which is why they do not support youth or non-smokers using e-cigarettes.
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Originally posted: e-Cigarette News Roundup for 10-4 – Potpourri
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