US: New Style of E-cigarette Arrives on the Market

Source from:  Winston-Salem Journal  12/10/2012

NJOY, the nation's top-selling electronic-cigarette company, said Thursday it has launched a new style, Kings, that it said offers "an authentic look, feel, flavor and packaging of a traditional tobacco cigarette, without the smoke, ash and cigarette smell."

E-cigs are battery-powered devices that heat a liquid nicotine solution in a disposable cartridge and create a vapor that is inhaled. Refill cartridges can be purchased in different amounts and flavors; five-packs typically cost between $9 and $18.

Kings sells for $7.99 each. It is available in most major convenience stores, including 7-Eleven, Sheetz, Circle K and Cumberland Farms.

Kings has nicotine levels of 4.5 percent and 3.0 percent by volume and come in traditional and menthol flavors.

Craig Weiss, the company's president and chief executive, calls the debut of Kings as a "major milestone and a "game-changer within the tobacco category."

Bonnie Herzog, an analyst with Wells Fargo Securities, has said "e-cigs are to tobacco what energy drinks are to beverages. There are projections of $1 billion in annual sales within a few years, Herzog said, in part because there are no federal or state excise taxes on the products.

"E-cigs are profitable, growing quickly, gaining shelf space and consumer acceptance; therefore e-cigs are an important new niche category for retailers," she said.

Reynolds American Inc. is testing Vuse, which it describes as "a single, ready-to-go digital vapor cigarette with no charging or assembly required." It is available at select Tarheel Tobacco outlets in the Triad.

The main sales challenge for e-cigs has been reputational, as in there had been no major tobacco manufacturers selling the products. That drawback was removed partially in April when Lorillard Inc. bought blu Cigs, based in Charlotte, for $135 million. Enditem