"Savage growth": the explosive growth of disposable e-cigarettes

In recent years, the global disposable e-cigarette market has shown explosive growth, and sales have surged year by year. Disposable e-cigarettes from brands such as Elf Bar and Lost Mary have taken over the vaping market and are becoming popular among young people. Is the emergence and popularity of e-cigarettes a boon or a hidden danger? In the future, where will the controversial e-cigarettes go? The article is from a translation, I hope it can inspire you.

According to a study, London became the largest market for e-cigarettes in the UK. In the streets and alleys, people can be seen smoking e-cigarettes everywhere. The smell of mango, lemon, strawberry and mint fills the air, and the streets are filled with the fashionable social culture of e-cigarettes.

Disposable e-cigarettes are available everywhere. They look smoother, easier to get started with, and are less expensive than their larger, refillable counterparts. In recent years, there has been a surge in the use of e-cigarettes, especially among teenagers.

A 2023 report by the British anti-smoking foundation, Action Smoking and Health (ASH), found that one in five teens have used e-cigarettes, and nearly 70% of teens say their most commonly used e-cigarettes are disposable e-cigarettes. In November, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released its annual National Youth Smoking Survey report, which found that disposable e-cigarettes are the most commonly used type of e-cigarette among adolescents in the United States.

The prevalence of e-cigarettes has caused panic. Doctors have called for a ban on smoking, and schools have set up e-cigarette detectors to reduce the use of e-cigarettes by young people. At the start of 2021, both smoking and vaping were actually declining among young people aged 18 to 24 in the UK. However, with the popularity of disposable e-cigarettes, there has been a surge in consumer population.

The use of e-cigarettes by young people has tripled in the last three years. Harry Tattan-Birch, a researcher at University College London, said it was "crazy". In the UK, for example, the popularity of e-cigarettes has not affected the downward trend in youth smoking rates, which means that the overall nicotine use rate in the UK is rising. Therefore, Tatan Birch stressed the urgent need to address the various problems and concerns caused by disposable e-cigarettes.

One of the biggest problems caused by disposable e-cigarettes is to induce teenagers to smoke cigarettes. Sharon Cox, principal researcher at UCL Tobacco & Alcohol Research Group, said the data showed that a growing percentage of young people are now using e-cigarettes, otherwise they might not smoke. Cox added that it's important now to figure out if this is a trend. Are disposable e-cigarettes just a fad that will eventually become obsolete, or will young people continue to use them for fun?, she said: "Now is the time to take action, not sit back and wait for things to happen." ”

There are many reasons why disposable e-cigarettes are so tempting to young people. First of all, they are inexpensive, around $6.20 per cigarette, which is cheaper than the average price of a pack of cigarettes. Another factor is convenience. "Instead of having to buy all the materials needed to refill the e-cigarette separately, disposable e-cigarettes are already assembled and ready to go," said Hartan Birch. They are sleek in shape and brightly colored. Even, people use e-cigarettes as an accessory to their clothing. ”

The appearance of disposable e-cigarettes is so important that Lost Mary, one of the UK's largest disposable e-cigarette brands, says that one of its missions is to "lead the fashion". Moreover, disposable e-cigarettes are now almost inevitable. In the UK, it seems that every convenience store will have disposable e-cigarettes at the door. Online advertising is also prevalent, and last summer, Elf Bar, a major brand of disposable e-cigarettes, was penalized for violating advertising rules by promoting its products on TikTok.

In the UK, two of the most popular e-cigarette brands are Elf Bar and Lost Mary. Anti-smoking group Ash found last year that more than half of 11- to 17-year-olds, about 100,000 young people who admitted to trying e-cigarettes, said they used Elf Bar and about a quarter used Lost Mary. In the United States, Elf Bar accounts for nearly 57% of the most common brands, despite the company's products being banned from imports. Jacques Xiang Li, head of global communications at iMiracle Shenzhen Technology, the Chinese company behind the two brands, said Elf Bar was banned because it missed the date to apply to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for permission to sell e-cigarette products in the United States. Mr. Li added that the company did not know how its products got into the United States. ）

Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Shenzhen, China, iMiracle Shenzhen Technology started as an e-commerce company before turning to disposable e-cigarettes and launching the Genie Bar brand in 2018, Li said. He said that in the first few years, there was no improvement, but after a few years, sales began to show explosive growth. Soon after, the company launched the Lost Mary brand.

All the while, iMiracle has kept a very low profile. But as officials and the government debated how to better regulate e-cigarettes, e-cigarettes began to be controversial.

This is indeed difficult: policy must ensure that anyone who wants to switch from combustible cigarettes to e-cigarettes can do so as easily as possible, while also ensuring that this accessibility does not encourage young people to smoke e-cigarettes. Jamie Hartmann-Boyce, an assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, said, "Vaping is not 100 percent safe, and it makes people forget how harmful smoking is." ”

The prevalence of the e-cigarette industry has a huge impact on all aspects of society, one of which is that news reports can mislead the public. Now, most people think that vaping is just as harmful as, if not more harmful than, smoking. Much of this is due to the terrible media reports about children being admitted to hospitals for vaping. "The news is usually fake," Cox said. 'E-cigarettes can help people quit smoking' isn't in the news, right?"

The second is to disrupt public health order. The World Health Organization remains skeptical of e-cigarettes. Despite the growing evidence that e-cigarettes are safer than smoking, the public's perception that smoking is harmful to humans remains deeply entrenched. "The longer e-cigarettes have been around, the worse people's perceptions become," Cox said.

The rise of disposable e-cigarettes is worrying. In October, the UK government launched a consultation on how to prevent youth e-cigarette abuse. Government officials have mentioned the possibility of restricting the flavors of e-cigarettes, regulating their packaging and sales display, or restricting the supply and sale of disposable e-cigarettes. Other countries have already begun to take action: in May, Australia banned all disposable e-cigarettes, as well as any over-the-counter e-cigarettes. In June this year, New Zealand announced that it would ban most disposable e-cigarettes. France wants to ban disposable e-cigarettes by the end of 2023, and Ireland is also considering a ban. In Canada, the province of Quebec recently banned the sale of e-cigarettes of any flavor.

Countries may also be considering banning the spread of e-cigarettes on environmental grounds. It is estimated that in the UK, two disposable e-cigarettes are thrown away every second, and their lithium batteries can cause serious pollution to the environment. Disposable e-cigarettes have been the culprit of multiple fires at recycling plants in recent months.

But researchers aren't sure if the ban is working. "The ban seemed desirable, but it didn't work," Cox said. "For disposable e-cigarettes, the current illegal operation and sale of products is extremely widespread, and the ban will make its illegal market even more rampant. There is no point in making amends. ”

In fact, there are some simpler measures to control smoking and can also effectively stop young people from vaping. For example, a tax on e-cigarettes. The tax rate could be doubled, and reducing the appeal of the taste could also work. Other countries, including the United States, Denmark and the Netherlands, have banned the use of added flavors in e-cigarettes altogether, but studies have shown that this will lead to more people switching to paper cigarettes. Also, the color of an e-cigarette doesn't have to be colorful, it can be gray.

An outright ban on disposable e-cigarettes could rob those who use them to quit smoking. Of course, it's important to protect young people, says Hartman Beuys. "But I ask that you don't forget those who died from second-hand smoke. ”

Translator: Araon_