Bonnie Herzog, a senior market analyst at Wells Fargo, made a rather bold prediction in regard to electronic cigarettes this past week, although it’s a prediction that many of us wholeheartedly believe will occur. Herzog believes that the “consumption of e-cigarettes could surpass that of traditional cigarettes within the next decade.”
Herzog compares e-cigs to energy drinks. A decade ago, many believed they were a passing fad, while others took the product and ran with it only to see huge growth and profit potential. She believes it will be the same for e-cigs. Currently they generate about $300 million in retail sales, according to Wells Fargo, but they predict that electronic cigarettes will break the $1 billion mark in half the time that energy drinks did.
There is no doubt that e-cigarette usage is going up while traditional smoking has been trending downward for quite some time.
Herzog states that the “notion that they offer the same sensation with less harm is an attractive proposition to a large group of consumers.”
She also feels that states will be placing more restrictions on e-cigarettes. This is a point that many may have to stand up and fight against. Should there be more restrictions on a product that allows tobacco users to give up their nasty habit? This is likely to be a big battle in the near future, and it’s one that e-cig users and their loved ones will have to be sure and voice their opinion about.
Countless numbers of spouses, family members and friends are thankful that e-cigs were invented if only for the fact that they no longer have to deal with the secondhand smoke and the horrible smell that comes with tobacco use.
Herzog felt the reason for more restrictions would be that e-cigs could be considered a “gateway” to tobacco usage. I’d like to find out the statistics of people who actually started with electronic cigarettes only to switch to traditional cigarettes- if there are any at all, I’d imagine those numbers are extremely small.