The electronic cigarette: Sorting through the global sales facts
If you smoke tobacco, either cigars, a pipe or cigarettes unless you’ve been living on a desert island chances are that you’ve already heard about the electronic cigarette. It’s the latest development for smokers that’s available in various configurations with names like eGo-T and eGo-C.
Even so, no matter what the name of the particular brand or product is they all operate under the same principle, that is that rather than delivering smoke they produce a vapor from liquid nicotine.
So it’s this unique delivery system that has led to so much of the confusion regarding the legality of their sales in various countries around the globe. In some countries such as Australia for instance it’s banned then in others like the UK the electronic cigarette is legal. Then again there’s the US where it’s still up for debate in the courts.
It’s not the liquid nicotine that’s the source of contention because even in countries where it’s banned you can still buy nicotine gum for instance. In countries where it’s banned as well as in the US, the major point of contention is whether or not the hardware itself is a drug delivery system.
So in a recent interview with Emilia Feng, CEO Of ecigator.net – a leading manufacturer of electronic cigarettes, she was able to lend some clarity to the issue and what she had to say was really quite interesting.
Ms. Feng explains: “The momentum as far as popularity and the use of the electronic cigarette is definitely moving upward. More people around the globe are trying it and the greater majority of them end up sticking with the product. Now it’s been fought over in the lower courts in the US for a few years already with rulings being made and then being subsequently overturned. So now it’s left for the Supreme Court to decide on the matter but in the meantime you can still buy them there.”
It’s a complex issue that for sure isn’t being made any simpler by further development of more products and systems. For instance there are two versions of the cigarette now, one that operates off a heat filament and another that uses ultrasound to generate the vapor.
Then a lot of the ongoing debate centers around whether or not the electronic cigarette can be marketed as a stop smoking product. This is despite it has been statistically shown that more than 30 percent of smokers who make the switch end up completely quitting within two years.
Through it all though, one thing is certain, that is that the electronic cigarette is here to stay. In fact even in some countries where it has been already banned, it’s only the commercial sales that has been restricted. So people there are still able to buy the electronic cigarette online and have them clear customs as long as they’re for personal use.
