British
American Tobacco to test tobacco e-cigarette in Japan
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[November 08, 2016]
By Taiga Uranaka and Martinne Geller
TOKYO/LONDON (Reuters) - British American
Tobacco PLC (BAT) plans to test a new tobacco-based cigarette
alternative in Japan next month, it said on Tuesday, taking aim at
Philip Morris International Inc's popular iQOS and Japan Tobacco Inc's
Ploom Tech.
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BAT said it plans to launch its new product, called "glo", on Dec.
12 in the northeastern city of Sendai. It will then use learning
from that launch to expand the product nationwide.
Glo electronically heats tobacco enough to create an inhalable
vapor. That vapor, according to BAT, has about 90 percent less
toxicant than smoke. The temperature of glo and the Kent Neostiks
that go with it, is about 240 degrees Celsius, whereas combustion in
traditional cigarettes takes place at over 800 degrees.
BAT has invested more than $1 billion over the past five years in
the development, scale up and launch of cigarette alternatives.
It sells Vype e-cigarettes, which use nicotine liquid, in several
European markets and is testing iFuse, a liquid-based e-cigarette
that also uses tobacco, in Romania.
BAT has also developed a nicotine inhaler called Voke that can be
licensed as a medical product in Britain, but it is not yet on the
market.
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The glo device will cost 8,000 yen ($76.61) with packs of twenty
Kent Neostiks, which come in three flavors, costing 420 yen ($4.02).
BAT is also in the process of buying U.S. peer Reynolds American Inc
in a $47 billion takeover that would create the world's biggest
listed tobacco company.
SMOKELESS WAR
All big tobacco companies are investing in tobacco alternatives, as
the cigarette market in most Western countries declines with more
people giving up the habit. Some analysts think tobacco-based vapor
products will be more successful at attracting cigarette smokers
since they use tobacco and might therefore be more satisfying for
smokers who cannot quit.
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Philip Morris chose Japan as a test market for its "heat not burn"
product due in part to regulations around nicotine liquid. Its iQOS,
introduced nationwide in Japan in April, has turned out so popular
that supplies are short.
"At this moment, we are seeing far greater demand than our
expectations and iQOS devices sell out as soon as they hit stores,"
said a Philip Morris Japan spokeswoman.
Japan Tobacco has also said production of its Ploom Tech has not
caught up with demand. It has suspended taking orders on its online
store and is limiting supply to stores in the city of Fukuoka, where
it is test sold.
(Story corrects headline to show product uses tobacco)
(Reporting by Taiga Uranaka and Martinne Geller)
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