UK
British American Tobacco (BAT) expects to double sales of its “new generation products” to more than GBP1 billion (US$1.3 billion) in 2018. The company also said that it wants revenue from the products, which include e-cigarettes and heat-not-burn tobacco devices, to rise further to GBP5 billion (US$6.6 billion) by 2022.
BAT has acknowledged its traditional cigarette business is under pressure in countries that are trying to improve public health. Challenges also include the introduction of plain packaging in Australia, France, and UK, and higher taxes in Russia and Brazil.
More regulatory troubles may lie ahead for the vaping business, however. In late October, the UK parliament launched an inquiry into the health effects of e-cigarettes. Norman Lamb, chair of the parliamentary science committee, said, “They are seen by some as valuable tools that will reduce the number of people smoking conventional cigarettes, and seen by others as ‘re-normalizing’ smoking for the younger generation.”