82
TOBACCO BUSINESS
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013
trench marketing
BY MICHAEL GELFAND
I
t’s getting harder and harder to remember a time
when the FDA wasn’t looking to tighten the screws
on the tobacco industry. However, a quick peek at the
burgeoning e-cigarette industry takes you right back to a
different era when aggressive oversight and heavy taxation
had yet to preoccupy the frenetic minds of politicians and
regulators.
Back in those halcyon days when the state and federal
governments weren’t in a tizzy over all-things-tobacco,
tobacco retailers enjoyed a much more laissez-faire way
of life. Products weren’t as expensive, advertising and
marketing were much less restrictive, and conducting
business was far less problematic, meaning retailers had an
easier time making a living, if not thriving.
But right or wrong, today’s world of tobacco retailing is
on an entirely different plane of existence: while the tobacco
industry is focusing a large portion of its energy fighting
overzealous taxation and regulation, e-cigarettes and the
estimated $1.6 billion industry growing around them are
beginning to fill the void and enjoying rapid growth at
tobacco’s expense. Meanwhile, e-cigarette retailers, as you
might have guessed, are understandably enjoying the ride.
Is the E-Cig Industry
the NewWild West?
While the government’s watchdogs have the tobacco
industry preoccupied, e-cigarette retailers are making hay
on the new retail frontier…but will it last?
