Major tobacco companies including Imperial Tobacco (IMT.L), Altria Group (MO.N), Philip Morris International (PM.N) and British American Tobacco (BATS.L) are increasingly launching their own e-cigarette brands as sales of conventional products stall in Western markets.
Two major national producers, China Tobacco and Indian Tobacco Company, have recently become producers, Bettcher said.
A Wells Fargo analyst report in July projected that U.S. sales of e-cigarettes would outpace conventional ones by 2020.
A BAT spokesman said overly restrictive regulations could prevent smokers from being aware of a less risky alternative to smoking, and “this can only be bad thing for public health”. (Reuters)
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