Well, I thought it was only a matter of time before big tobacco came up with a product which would compete with the e cigarette. When consumers can purchase a product which is cheaper, healthier, and more affordable than tobacco you can be sure the companies who knowingly manufactured and sold a deadly product for decades would want in one the action. So British American Tobacco have bought the rights allowing them to sell a product which is supposedly going to be the first safe cigarette, evidently the electronic cigarette independent companies are seeing these days don’t count.

This “Safe” cigarette is neither a traditional tobacco smoke or a regular electronic cigarette, but seems to be some sort of hybrid. Industry spokesmen claim that it’s going to be much more satisfying than the e cigarette but will a lower health risk than tobacco.

David O’Reilly, a spokesman for BAT, said “There is political support for this. In our view, e-cigarettes do not work. People should be able to use nicotine, but in the safest possible way.” To be honest, reading that statement made me want to find the man and punch him on the nose…haha

“People should be able to use nicotine, but in the safest possible way.”….really? A company that has knowing sold death laced with one of the most addictive drugs known to man for generations now thinks that we all have a right to a safe nicotine inhalation? Only if there is a colossal amount of money in it for them I guess.

Do you think the only reason this product is even being considered is because electronic cigarettes are becoming more popular every day? These companies probably see a future where people in the west no longer need to use their death sticks thanks to the every increasing quality of the e cigs available. They never seemed desperate to introduce a safe way to get nicotine when they didn’t have any real competition on the market. After all, we all know how ineffective regular nicotine replacement therapy is. I’m not sure I’ve ever met someone who has successfully used them to stop smoking cigarettes over the long term. E Cigarettes on the other hand are a completely different kettle of fish and look to have potential in allowing those addicted to nicotine to cut out the burning tobacco leaf.

The product they are hoping to have on the market in a couple of years was developed by a company called Kind Consumer in the UK and uses an aerosol to deliver nicotine to the consumer. With the money the tobacco companies have available to them there is a real chance they will be able to get this cigarette regulated. If that happens, and it does indeed turn out to be safe, will that be the beginning of the end for the electronic cigarette?

I have to admit that I’m quite intrigued by the idea of this new nicotine delivery product, but I’m disgusted that it’s going to be another money making vehicle for the companies that have been knowingly killing us since the 1950′s. I’m loathed to give them any more of my cash, and hopefully by the time it reaches the market e cigarettes will be so good that I won’t be interested in it anyway.

Well we knew it was bound to happen eventually and it seems as if the news many have been dreading is on the horizon. Nothing is even nearly settled at the moment but it seems that there have been talks going on between Phillip Morris and the Ruyan E Cigarette Company.

After a couple of years of the major players in the tobacco and pharmaceutical industry doing all they can to beat the electronic cigarette to death they know want a piece of the pie.

Arthur Schopenhauer once said that “All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.” We’re coming to the stage where the e cigarette is going to be accepted and promoted by the tobacco industry as the obvious way for all smokers to get their nicotine fix. All the arguments about e cigarette safety will be quickly forgotten in the rush to make as much money as possible.

A couple of years ago when the electric cigarette was introduced to the market it was pretty much ignored by the tobacco companies. They sat back and let small niche companies build up a market for the product and when the device started to become popular they, along with the FDA and the nicotine replacement therapy manufacturers, went to lengths to make sure everyone knew how the product had never been tested and could be dangerous.

Of course those of us who have used the E Cigarette have always known that it was a product ahead of its time which was going to gain main stream approval. If big tobacco does get involved in this then it has its good and bad points.

The good:

1. The cash they will be willing to spend on research and development will mean big advances in the technology which will mean a better vaping experience for us all.
2. Their huge financial clout will ensure that required lobbying and research will take place which get the FDA and all other “health authorities” off our backs.

The bad:

1. Big tobacco will waltz in with their huge cash resources and take most or all of the business off the E Cig companies who have done all the hard work building this product from nothing.
2. The companies who have been lying to and literally killing us for the last 150 years with their deadly products will continue to take our hard earned cash.

I don’t know about you but I much rather give my money to a small e cigarette company that a multinational corporation who are quite happy to kill for money.

At this point no agreement has been reached between the Ruyan Group and Philip Morris but its only a matter of time before the tobacco companies claim their slice of this potentially very lucrative pie.

I’ll keep you posted on how this story develops as I get more information.