THE electronic cigarette market is worth around £1.5 billion globally, with estimates for the UK standing at approximately £193 million in 2013 (Nielsen).
Impressive figures for a market that started to get off the ground in 2007.
The majority of us are now very familiar with advertisements for the products on television as well as transport and billboards in major cities attempting to get us to switch and kick the tobacco smoking habit.
They look like traditional cigarettes and are made up of a refill which is attached to a battery which warms the e-liquid within it to produce vapour when the user inhales.
These devices are now mainstream, but there are also other versions and variations available, which are generally more efficient and help users save money.
E-shisha or tank style devices are becoming increasingly popular, with electronic cigarette company Freshcig seeing around five of these devices sold for every one cigarette style (‘cigalike’) device since the start of 2014.
Ben Wilson, Managing Director of Freshcig electronic cigarettes said; “We’ve seen a huge increase in demand for these products.
“We believe it’s due to consumers becoming more familiar with the concept of vaping and more confidence in using them because of heightened publicity and media debate”.
E-Shisha style products are made up of a more powerful and slightly larger battery with a cartomiser which can be refilled with e-liquid.
The cartomiser contains a wick which heats the liquid to produce vapour. The batteries can last up to 48 hours between charges for one’s with a 650 mAh capacity, compared to that of a standard product which looks like a tobacco cigarette, of 220 mAH and around four hours.
One of the most convenient things about refillable electronic cigarettes is the fact that they are a lot more cost effective. For example, for 30ml of e-liquid standard prices are around £10 with a pack of 5 refills containing around 1ml of e-liquid each costing the same amount.
Ben Wilson added; “We still offer cigalike style devices as they are generally an introduction to the concept of vaping, others simply prefer the look and feel.
“However, consumers can save around six times the amount they currently spend by switching to refillable devices and combined with the savings of not smoking tobacco products, we feel that this is one of the driving forces for their popularity”.
Of course, there has been a lot of debate around electronic cigarettes recently as to their effectiveness in helping people to kick the habit as there haven’t been any long term studies.
However, Head of Health Psychology at the University of London and Director of Tobacco Studies at Cancer Research UK’s Health Behaviour Research Centre, Professor Robert West has stated recently that they are 100 times safer than smoking a tobacco cigarette. Many other health professionals believe the same, although proposed medical licensing in 2016 in the UK may make the products more difficult to get hold of than tobacco.
Regardless of the debates, the e-cig market is still a burgeoning one and it will be extremely interesting to see how the products and consumer trends change over the coming years; and whether e-shisha devices overtake standard electronic cigarette sales.
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