WASHINGTON -- A wide range of stakeholders involved in the vaping debate attended the recent E-Cig Summit USA, seeming to agree generally that electronic cigarettes are a viable harm-reduction strategy, according to a tobacco analyst.
Scientists, public-health officials, the tobacco industry, consumer advocacy and user communities, attended the May 8th conference in Washington, D.C., and for the most part, agreed that vaping was “dramatically less harmful” than smoking, according to Bonnie Herzog, managing director of beverages, tobacco and convenience-store research at Wells Fargo Securities LLC, New York.
“Where experts appeared to disagree was on regulation,” Herzog said, “and how far it should go to limit consumer choice in terms of flavor, nicotine strength and styles.”
Here are seven insights Herzog noted …
Frustration on the “front lines” of the vaping movement remains palpable, Herzog said. Smaller vape players and associations voiced strong concerns about the cost and uncertainties of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s so-called “deeming” regulations.
E-cigs may be less harmful than cigarettes, but smoker satisfaction still remains weak. Herzog said 87% of e-cig users still smoke the same amount of combustible cigarettes because they don’t find e-cigs to be as good or better at delivering nicotine.
Any “one-size-fits-all” tobacco-control strategy ignores differences in risk between tobacco and nicotine-containing products.
While not void of risk—especially cardiovascular risk—vaping is “far less dangerous” than combustible cigarettes on the “continuum of risk,” Herzog said.
Consumers remain unclear that e-cigarettes are less harmful than combustible cigarettes, Herzog said. A statement by the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control or the U.S. Surgeon General may help.
People seemed split on the degree of harm that the FDA’s deeming regulations are inflicting on innovation and competition within the vaping industry.
Many attendees believed regulation and taxation should be done on the basis of harm, Herzog said.
Held for the first time in the United States, the London-based event is in its fourth year.
Get today’s need-to-know convenience industry intelligence. Sign up to receive texts from CSP on news and insights that matter to your brand.
CSP’s Top 202 details the largest chains in the convenience-store industry and the biggest M&A stories of the past year. Welcome to a deep dive into the c-store landscape.
Category sales performance in Beverages, Candy, General Merchandise, Packaged Food/Foodservice and Snacks.
The industry’s largest distributors by sales volume
Corporate retail news affecting the convenience-store industry
The latest information on products and trends in the convenience-store and foodservice industries.
Peek inside new convenience stores to uncover the best in retail store design across North America.