The recent outbreak of “vape-related” lung disease in the United States is leading to numerous states and localities setting in place harsh e-cigarette bans. It is calculated that these bans and restrictions will shrink the local market by 13%, according to specialist researchers at ECigIntelligence.
Canada and Britain will be mostly affected by these events, where the 2019-20 growth rate for the market will be roughly halved to 10%
“This will largely be the result of “dual users” – individuals who both vape e-cigarettes and smoke tobacco products – reverting to the use of conventional tobacco products alone,” said the press release.
“Consumers abandoning vapour and returning to smoking will not only be a blow to the sector, but also threatens to reverse many of the public-health benefits that e-cigarettes have conferred,” said Barnaby Page, editorial director of ECigIntelligence.
“Although it seems increasingly unlikely that legitimate nicotine vapour products are the cause of the problem, and although both the CDC and FDA are advising that vapers who use these products should not return to smoking, the damage in terms of public perceptions may already have been done,” he added.
The market growth between 2019 and 2020 will be flat
Before the current situation emerged, ECigIntelligence had forecast a 14% year-on-year growth for the global vaping market. However, in 2020 the market will be valued at USD 14.4 billion, meaning that the growth between 2019 and 2020 will be flat.
The agency concluded that Canada and Britain will be mostly affected by these events, where the 2019-20 growth rate for the market will be roughly halved to 10%. However, other major European markets are not expected to be impacted, said ECigIntelligence.
