British American Tobacco (BAT) and retail merchandising: Vype e-cigarette promotion in Ontario, Canada

Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) were initially offered by many independent producers, but multinational tobacco companies, which have notable marketing budgets, have increasingly acquired e-cigarette brands and developed their own ‘next generation products.’1 In the USA, for example, the top-selling e-cigarette brands during 2018 were JUUL, Vuse, MarkTen XL, Blu and Logic, which collectively accounted for a 97% market share.2 3 With the exception of JUUL, the leading e-cigarette brands were all produced by multinational tobacco companies. While JUUL is the evident brand leader by possessing an estimated 72% market share, Altria bought a 35% minority ownership of the e-cigarette producer for $12.8 billion in December 2018.4–6 Specialty vape shops were initially the standard for acquiring e-cigarettes, but convenience stores are emerging as key retailers given the established distribution channels of multinational tobacco companies.

British American Tobacco (BAT) is the parent…

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