Something was buried in the press release the U.S. Food and Drug Administration put out on July 27, 2017. The agency was making an historic announcement: the initiation of “a multi-year roadmap to better protect kids and significantly reduce tobacco-related disease and death.” It quoted FDA then-Commissioner Scott Gottlieb: “Unless we change course, 5.6 million young people today will die prematurely later in life from tobacco use.” While focusing on combustible cigarettes that deliver nicotine via smoke particles, the FDA recognized that e-cigarettes needed regulation as well. In the seventh paragraph, it announced coming “revised timelines” that would require e-cigarette makers to apply for approval by Aug. 8, 2022—a long extension from the then-existing FDA deadline of August 2018. “The FDA expects that manufacturers would continue to market products while the agency reviews product applications,” it said.
And that’s what the industry did. In the past two years, the market for vaping—which uses flavored vapor, not smoke, to deliver nicotine— has almost doubled, to an estimated $8.8 billion, in 2019. Leader Juul Labs Inc., which last year got a $13 billion investment from Marlboro maker Altria Group Inc., accounted for nearly 1 in 3 e-cigarettes sold in the U.S. as of December 2017. The company’s sales increased 641% over that year, to 16.2 million devices, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Contributing to the surge are two things: the belief that vaping is a safe and effective way for adult smokers to quit their cigarette habits, and the appeal to young people of candylike flavorings and sleek technology available in the electronic devices. Sales grew even as the regulatory schedule meant there would be a huge gap in the public’s knowledge about the safety of e-cigarettes.
この記事は Bloomberg Businessweek の September 23, 2019 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は Bloomberg Businessweek の September 23, 2019 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
Instagram's Founders Say It's Time for a New Social App
The rise of AI and the fall of Twitter could create opportunities for upstarts
Running in Circles
A subscription running shoe program aims to fight footwear waste
What I Learned Working at a Hawaiien Mega-Resort
Nine wild secrets from the staff at Turtle Bay, who have to manage everyone from haughty honeymooners to go-go-dancing golfers.
How Noma Will Blossom In Kyoto
The best restaurant in the world just began its second pop-up in Japan. Here's what's cooking
The Last-Mover Problem
A startup called Sennder is trying to bring an extremely tech-resistant industry into the age of apps
Tick Tock, TikTok
The US thinks the Chinese-owned social media app is a major national security risk. TikTok is running out of ways to avoid a ban
Cleaner Clothing Dye, Made From Bacteria
A UK company produces colors with less water than conventional methods and no toxic chemicals
Pumping Heat in Hamburg
The German port city plans to store hot water underground and bring it up to heat homes in the winter
Sustainability: Calamari's Climate Edge
Squid's ability to flourish in warmer waters makes it fitting for a diet for the changing environment
New Money, New Problems
In Naples, an influx of wealthy is displacing out-of-towners lower-income workers