JAMIE CARR: How Big Tobacco plans to ‘smoke’ the competition
Big Tobacco is looking increasingly nervous at the approach of disrupters, who have created a product that dishes up the nicotine fix without the downside of early and painful death
Big Tobacco has been walking around with a whacking great target on its back ever since the medical fraternity first suggested that puffing away on 40 gaspers a day may not be the best possible thing for your health. While litigation has failed to kill it off — and it has continued to print money in the intervening period — it is looking increasingly nervous at the approach of the disrupters, who have created a product that dishes up the nicotine fix without, they say, the downside of early and painful death. The big players have been investing heavily in next-generation products, but they have been roundly outplayed by the arrival of Juul, which has captured 70% of the US vaping market since it launched in 2015. It has now started to roll out into other markets, including the UK and Israel. Juul’s success is based on a combination of sleek design, a strong social media presence, celebrity endorsers and the fact that at 5% nicotine concentration, its pods deliver a kick like a parti...
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