# The tide is turning



## Hooked (13/11/17)

USA: "Big Tobacco Company buys into vape shop chain"

http://vaping360.com/avail-vapor-altria-investment/

Hope SA realises that if you can't beat 'em, join 'em!

Reactions: Like 2


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## Stillwaters (14/11/17)

Personally, I don't think this is the best news. Big tobacco buys vape shops to enter an established market then floods the market with their products, being mainly cig-a-likes. Having the cash and approval know-how behind them, they'll be able to get fda approval easier than independent vape manufactures and retailers. Bad news for mod, atty and juice manufactures, bad news for consumers. Maybe this is just a cynical view, I certainly hope so

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Reactions: Agree 1


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## Hooked (14/11/17)

Stillwaters said:


> Personally, I don't think this is the best news. Big tobacco buys vape shops to enter an established market then floods the market with their products, being mainly cig-a-likes. Having the cash and approval know-how behind them, they'll be able to get fda approval easier than independent vape manufactures and retailers. Bad news for mod, atty and juice manufactures, bad news for consumers. Maybe this is just a cynical view, I certainly hope so
> 
> Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk



@Stillwaters Interesting how different people have different perspectives. Hope yours doesn't come about!


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## Stillwaters (14/11/17)

As I said, a cynical view but had been expressed by various commentators leading up to legislation being passed on usa last year

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## SinnerG (14/11/17)

I would think the only reason they did that purchase is to cut costs on obtaining sales licenses and/or having to set up stores, rather buying into an existing chain. Can only think that way as the company already has an existing product range or e-cig devices.

Other big tobacco companies are just about tobacco, but Altria seems to be open to both tobacco and vaping.

I'm new to all this, but I would think there'd be more of a problem if it was one of the real top big tobacco companies that don't have a e-cig product.
Big companies are all about feeding the shareholder. Would the vaping community welcome such a buy-in that could lead to cost cutting as big tobacco go after pure profit margins?


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## Hooked (14/11/17)

My perspective is that the tobacco company has realised that more and more smokers are switching to vaping instead of cigarettes, which would affect the tobacco company's profits - and that's why they've bought into a vape chain. If one thinks of just the ecgissa forum which apparently has about 8,000 members. That's 8,000 smokers that have been lost to tobacco. And that's just THIS forum, in THIS country. Methinks tobacco companies are hurting - and are going to hurt more.


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## RichJB (14/11/17)

Big tobacco already controls 70% of the vaporiser market in the US. Brands like Vuse (Reynolds), blu (Imperial) and MarkTen (Altria/PMI) are the market leaders there.

I don't know of any tobacco company that is focusing on cigarettes anymore. BAT, Altria, PMI, Reynolds, Imperial have all announced their plans for a smokeless future. Reynolds alone have spent $1 billion setting up their new next-gen smokeless products division.

PMI's iQOS application to the FDA is 2 million pages.

Reactions: Like 2


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