Why E-Nicotine Delivery Systems Are Not More Successful in the USA?

 Typical U S Tobacco Plants

The most recent figures show that 45.3 Million people over the age of 18 smoke tobacco products in the U S or 19.3% of the adult population.  That does not include smokeless tobacco (chewing tobacco & snuff ) users, which includes 8.7 million Americans (3.5% of the population) aged 12 and older that were users of smokeless tobacco products in 2008, but no worries, while cigarette sales have recently declined, smokeless tobacco sales continue to grow, in fact, tripling between 1986 and 2005.

In an attempt to answer the above styled question I have rethought and researched the E Cigar & E Cigarette Nicotine delivery devices in more detail following my bride’s recent comment that she failed to understand why anyone that is a smoker would not use E-devices as a means of obtaining a “Nicotine Fix” in the stead of tobacco based products. It’s likely that anyone who arrives at a reasonable answer is ‘key’ to developing a successful retail business in this particular area, especially when taking into consideration that the world wide growth rate for E Devices is believed to be nearly 40% per year.

Based upon the remarks / comments made by several Tennessee heavy machinery operators of recent date, it appears the problems have been or can be counted on one hand: 1) E-devices have historically not been effective in delivering a sufficient supply of Nicotine to the average cigar / cigarette smoker.  2) The simple matter of inconvenience associated with recharging the E-device, replacing the Nicotine Cartridge device, and replacing the rechargeable battery now and then.  3) The initial cost of acquiring the ‘Starter Kits’ (historically $100.00+).  4) The simple lack of properly educating the American public in regard to the benefits associated with E-Devices. . . . Solve these problems and the result may very well be a successful retail sales business.

Research over the past 7 years has determined that Nicotine molecules found within vapor, as that found in all E-devices, are 10 times larger than the Nicotine molecules that exist within tobacco smoke.  Simply put, a human’s lungs cannot absorb the same volume of Nicotine from vapor as from smoke (no one yet knows the amount of the difference). Case in point, if you smoke Marlboro Lights they contain 8mg of Nicotine (Marlboro Reds contain 12mg), but the Nicotine is delivered via smoke, result being you’d get a better Nicotine Fix from tobacco smoke than a Vapor Device that supplies a like amount of (8mg) Nicotine.   Historically, the typical E Cigarette only offered 6mg to 12mg devices, which resulted in a less than satisfactory Nicotine Fix. Hence the Tennessee equipment operators and others are quick to say that all E Cigarettes “fail to satisfy their need for Nicotine”.

This shortcoming has allegedly been recently resolved by simply increasing the amount of Nicotine within the vapor (now 18mg in e cigarettes) and by instructing the user of the E-Device to exhale through the nostrils / the nose, because more Nicotine molecules are absorbed through the nose into the blood stream more readily than the mouth (that’s why so many folks snort cocaine).

The second problem “inconvenience” has been resolved because the 18mg device referenced above is now available as a disposable e cigarette / e cigar that is simply tossed aside when the built-in battery is depleted. 

Third, the “cost” of the disposable device is comparable to the price of traditional tobacco based products, and in some areas cheaper, depending upon the state tobacco tax; KY’s tax on a pack of cigarettes for example is $1.65.  There is no tobacco tax on E-devices; Federal or State, since they don’t contain tobacco. As for #4, ‘educating America’s public’; have you noticed a limited few ads on TV as well as other media of late, yep,  of course you have.

The Smokey Mountain Flea Market located just off I-40 East of Knoxville Tennessee boasts having an average of 15,000 shoppers / visitors per 3 day week-end.  Based upon the smoking statistic percentage reference above, 19+% of those shoppers smoke tobacco products (15,000 x 19% = 2,850 smokers per 3 day weekend). Only an idiot would think it possible to sell an E Cigar or E Cigarette to each of those Nicotine addicted shopper, but if you reduce that expectation to saaay 5 or 6% of 2,850; suddenly a more realistic sales number emerges (142—171) per weekend.

There are only a few locations in the eastern U S that I am aware of that regularly has a similar number of smokers (and tobacco chewers) milling around, looking for something to buy (aside from other flea markets). The locations that are foremost in my mind include Gatlinburg, Tennessee; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; and Branson, Missouri. 

For example Gatlinburg (gateway to the Great Smokey Mountains National Park) is believed to have an average of 27,000 daily visitors x 19% = 5,130 smokers per day or 156,000 smokers per month x 5% =7,800 potential sales per month.  . . . A retail sales factor that would generate somewhere in the neighborhood of $16,000.00 net, before Federal income Taxes each month, and as Grandpa used to say “that ant hay”.

Sources:

http://tgsfree4allinfo.blogspot.com/2011/07/electronic-cigarettes.html http://ecigarsupply.com/                                                                               http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_cigarette                               http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/topics-in-brief/smokeless-tobacco

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