The e-cigarette has broken through. Sales are estimated to already be around two billion dollars a year. E-cigarette companies are also spending an increasing amount of money on advertising. According to the New York Times, the Blu e-Cigs brand alone increased their marketing budget from $2.7 million in 2010 to $20.8 million in 2012. In parallel, lobbyists are approaching national governments and the European Commission to push for e-cigarettes as the new healthy alternative to smoking.
A study published in the American Journal of Public Health reported that 44.5 per cent of smokers think e-cigarettes can help people quit smoking. However, scientific evidence for this claim is still lacking. A recent review published by the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg even stresses the potential health risks of e-cigarettes. Furthermore, the American Center for Disease Control reported that young people who didn’t smoke are increasingly trying the e-cigarette. E-cigarettes come in bright colours and sweet flavours like strawberry, vanilla and cooky & cream milkshake, specifically targeting young people.
A new era of smoking appears to be arising. Ivo van Woerden and Astrid Viciano had a long look behind the scenes of the e-cigarette industry.
(Illustration © Stefan Dimitrov / Photo © Kiril Rusev)
