CDC: E-cigarettes, hookahs popular among middle and high-schoolers

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39. Tobacco companies are becoming interested in promoting e-cigs. ...

Big Tobacco Invests in E-Cigarettes. Should You?
Still just a puff for Big Tobacco, but e-cigarettes are shaking up the smoking giants

By RICHARD SATRAN

U.S. sales of electronic cigarettes are expected to jump past $1 billion this year, and where there's growth like that you can bet someone is making money – whether it'll be new companies or Big Tobacco remains to be seen.

While still a tiny fraction of total tobacco sales, the market is already a lucrative one for some fledgling e-cigarette firms, though companies that promote and advertise the products are receiving much of the benefits, not manufacturers themselves. Longer term, the burning question is: Who is best positioned when government regulators take control of a market that's so unfettered it can legally target adolescents with candy-flavored smokes.

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Lorillard, the scrappy No. 3 cigarette maker behind giants Altria and Reynolds American, has moved aggressively with its blu brand, says Kwon, adding that the company has "always been an innovator." It's trying to bring a touch of Mad Men-style glamour to cigarettes, and bringing smokes back to the tube for the first time in four decades with ads featuring television celebrity Jenny McCarthy puffing up the benefits of e-cigarettes by saying "it's not sexy" to smell like an ashtray and pointing out she doesn't have to freeze outside to smoke a cigarette.

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And what about Big Tobacco's role? Altria and Reynolds need to compete, but the cost of a massive new marketing push in a sector where regulatory issues are still being sorted out might not make perfect sense, at least for now, analysts say, especially if such new costs mean any trade-off for tobacco company shareholders who purchase the stocks in part for their high dividend yields. "They are in a business that is highly profitable that does not require a whole lot of investment," says Kwon, while noting a changing market could upend such reluctance. "This could be much different in the future, and this is something they will have to invest in. It's in its very early stages, but it has potential to become something big, and it could have an impact."
http://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/mutual-funds/articles/2013/10/17/big-tobacco-invests-in-e-cigarettes-should-you

There is no doubt that our government loves to regulate and often that is a good thing. However big business often is able to exert its power to determine the extent of the regulation. The big drug companies may fear that e-cigs present a threat to their sales of anti-smoking drugs, nicotine patches and gum. Tobacco companies may decide to support e-cigs as it may attract many young smokers who think that such devices are cool.

I personally feel that e-cigs present a lower level of health risk then cigarettes, cigars or chewing tobacco but more research should be done. I smoked e-cigs for two years and now have quit. I will admit that I occasionally smoke an good cigar or sometimes (rarely) bum a cigarette off a smoker which I pay for. That's a major improvement over smoking a pack a day.

My doctor recommended trying e-cigs as he said that a number of his patients had managed to significantly reduce or quit smoking conventional tobacco products.