💨 E-Cigarettes

About

E-cigarettes (vapes) are battery-powered devices that heat a liquid containing nicotine, propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, and flavorings to produce an aerosol. They emerged commercially around 2007 and became a mass-market alternative to combustible cigarettes by the mid-2010s. Juul Labs dominated the US market before regulatory pressure; RELX, Elf Bar (now Lost Mary), and Vuse are current global leaders. The category encompasses closed pod systems, open tank devices, and single-use disposables.

Market

The global e-cigarette and vaping market reached approximately $30 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow to $65+ billion by 2030. Disposable vapes are the fastest-growing segment, particularly popular with younger consumers. China manufactures over 90% of global vaping hardware (dominated by SMOORE International and Shenzhen-based OEMs). The UK, US, and France are the largest consumer markets outside China. Major tobacco companies — BAT (Vuse), PMI (VEEV), and Altria — have all made significant vaping investments.

Regulation

E-cigarettes face the most varied and rapidly evolving regulatory environment of any nicotine product. The UK treats vaping as a harm-reduction tool and has actively promoted switching. The US FDA requires Premarket Tobacco Application (PMTA) approval — a high bar that has cleared relatively few products. The EU regulates vapes under the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD), capping nicotine concentration at 20mg/ml and tank size at 2ml. Australia banned nicotine vapes for general sale until 2024, then reversed to a pharmacy-only model. Over 30 countries have outright bans. Flavor bans, disposable bans, and youth access restrictions are expanding globally.