E-cigarettes, or e-vapor, continue to be pressured as regulation, competition from disposable vapes and tariffs weigh on industry volumes, according to Goldman Sachs’ third-quarter 2025 Nicotine Nuggets Survey.
The survey, analyzed by Bonnie Herzog, managing director and senior consumer analyst at Goldman Sachs, New York, represents about 40,000 c-store retail locations across the United States, or about 27% of all tobacco outlets.
Respondents to the survey said they expect e-cigarette volumes to decrease 6.4% in 2025, “worse than indicated during our second-quarter survey,” Herzog said.
“Much of the negative sentiment this year is a result of the pressures from the illicit e-cigarette market, though one retailer is hopeful that additional enforcement of illicit e-cigs should be a tailwind for e-vapor products as well as cigarettes,” Herzog said.
With the illicit e-cigarette market impacting this segment, tobacco companies are beginning to balk. Tobacco companies are launching products anyway despite not first receiving authorization from the Food and Drug Administration as frustration continues surrounding the premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) process.
Helix Innovations LLC, a subsidiary of Altria, will be launching On Plus nicotine pouches this fall in North Carolina, Texas and Florida, the company posted on X. The launch of the nicotine pouch brand is without having first received authorization from the FDA.
To date, the FDA has authorized 39 e-cigarette products. These are the only e-cigarette products that currently may be legally marketed and sold in the United States.
Reynolds pauses pilot of Vuse One
Reynolds American Inc., a subsidiary of British American Tobacco (BAT), recently paused its plan to pilot Vuse One disposable vapor product in South Carolina, Florida and Georgia.
“We can confirm that the planned pilot launch of Vuse One in selected states has been postponed,” a company spokesperson told CSP Daily News Tuesday. “We will bring Vuse One to market at the appropriate time.”
Vuse One is one of the few disposable vapor products that meet the in-market and PMTA-deadline requirements that Congress established in 2022, the spokesperson said, adding that “we have communicated with our customers to ensure that they are fully informed about our decision.”
In September Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary issued a statement encouraging retailers to stop selling illegal vapes.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the FDA and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), seized 4.7 million units of unauthorized e-cigarette products with an estimated retail value of $86.5 million.
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