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It is often said the the e-cigs, as we know them, were invented by a Chinese Scientist called Hon Lik in 2003.

However, a document marked 'Confidential for British & American Tobacco' shows that as far back as January 1998, BAT were working with a company called Vapotronic Ltd to develp a product called the 'Cigotronic' - an e cig.

The Cigotronic

Work started on the Cigotronic in 1993, and by 1998 it was ready for BAT to take to the market. The Cigotronic was "a non-combustible completely "smoke-free" electronic cigarette shaped and sized device designed to create and control nicotine vapour for delivery, via the lungs to the consumer. The device, which can hold the equivalent nicotine content of 20 cigarettes, eliminates most of the known hazards associated with combustible smoking. It is designed to deliver the taste, smell, oral and handling characteristics plus other sensory benefits desired by the smoker, including the physiological stimulation of nicotine"



This was developed as a direct response to the anti-smoking lobby and was to have been marketed under the slogan "Smoke-Free to Smoke Freely".

The document says that the Cigatronic completely eliminates the "carcinogenic smoke & tar cocktail", supports the governments and the Anti-Smoking lobby's strategic direction by providing a solution to both the primary and secondary health issues whilst satisfying the smokers need for nicotine stimulation. Consequently consumers choosing to exercise their right to consume nicotine with the Cigatronics device can do so in all public places where smoking is currently banned.

BAT intended to pay tobacco tax on the product (which, at the time was much lower than todays duty rates) and said "Control of the nicotine supply will protect the tax revenue base for governments plus tobacco leaf growers will continue to benefit economically through the maintenance of the demand for nicotine."

The Cigatronic was claimed to provide an identical physiological response to the inhaled nicotine delivered by a cigarette as well as the behavioural satisfaction of the hand/mouth ritual

It was also disposable, intended to replace a pack of 20 and the target was to have it ready for FDA compliance testing by June 2000.

So there we have it.

In January 1998, 5 years before Hon Lik and Ruyan produced their invention, BAT had a full working e-cig ready to be put into production.

For reasons that are entirely unexplained at this stage, they decided not to procede.

SOURCE AND COPY OF THE CONFIDENTIAL B.A.T. DOCUMENT HERE :

tobaccodocuments.org/batco/322017730-7745.html?zoom=750&ocr_position=above_foramatted&start_page=1




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Following from my earlier post (Big Tobacco bets on e-cig future)

Where David O'Reilly, BAT's scientific director was quoted as saying,

“The vision is for another product which can compete with enjoyment of smoking cigarettes, and e-cigarettes are closest thing on market that meets those needs.”

We now have more news relating to BAT and e-cigs:





Two Senior figures from BAT (British American Tobacco) have gone to work with SKYCIG.

Andy de Caso, the former National Sales Manager at BAT has now become the National Sales Director at Skycig.

Also now working for Skycig is Tracy Sutton who was formerly the Trade Development Manager at BAT.

www.prweb.com/releases/2012/9/prweb9925834.htm

Their role at Skycig will be to oversee the transition from online and into retail, to drive Skycig into the shops and onto the shelves.

These two people are 'big guns' and could have a dramatic effect on the future of Skycig

Andy de Caso said "I have been analysing the e-cigarette industry for some time, and I’m hugely impressed at how much it has thrived, especially in recent months. I see this business and industry as a whole as the way forward."


Could this be a first stage of a partnership between Skycigs by BAT?

One thing is for certain, the recruitment of these 2 means that Skycig means business and are gearing up for a massive expansion from online and into the consumer retail sector


uk.linkedin.com/pub/andy-de-caso/10/a3/27
uk.linkedin.com/pub/tracy-sutton/40/b23/509

It has re-started, the site is crashing again

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Things are going to change, thats for sure, but how they will change is still unknown.

This article in the Financial Times, entitled "Big Tobacco bets on e-cigarette future" confirms the moves that tobacco companies are making into the e-cig business, and the desire of the MHRA to regulate.

www.ft.com/cms/s/0/cb76997e-e0a5-11e1-b465-00144feab49a.html#axzz23QSg9A2r

or CLICK HERE FOR ARTICLE

David O'Reilly, BAT's scientific director says :

“The vision is for another product which can compete with enjoyment of smoking cigarettes, and e-cigarettes are closest thing on market that meets those needs.”

another interesting part of the article is this

That has not stopped companies such as FTSE 100 company Imperial Tobacco taking an undisclosed stake in an e-cigarette company

This confirms the rumours that have been around for a while now that Imperial have bought into a major European e-cig company, but they are not saying which one - can anyone shed any light on this ?

One thing is for sure, the e-cig market is going to change, of that there is no doubt.

Exactly, the 45mg has actually been clinically tested and was found to be the most efficient concentration for vapour.

It has been shown that people using 45mg actually consume LESS nicotine per day than those on lower strengths because you take a few drags and put your device down - more like smoking - I found myself doing this instictively.

You just simply don't 'chain vape' this juice. (without even thinking about it) - you get your nic hit and put it down.

I quite often get a headache when I am vaping 24mg, because if I don't watch it, I end up chaining and getting too much nic - I have never had a headache with the 45mg, the opposite in fact, I feel so much better.

The plus side is that my batteries are lasting a hell of a lot longer between charges and my cartomisers are lasting for ages before needing to be refilled.

The e-cigarette phenomenon - study finds a third of Czech smokers have tried the new "safe" cigarettes

An interesting article.

In the last year, e-cigs have taken off in the Czech Republic, and an estimated 1/3rd of smokers there have tried them.

Radio Prague decided to look into the phenomenon and interviewed Dr Eva Kralikova. She runs the Czech Centre for Tobacco Addiction, so she should know about the subject.



She says that " it is important to point out that they do not produce any smoke. Nothing is burning in them and so there are definitely not thousands of chemicals there, which are present in tobacco smoke. So the risk is incomparable with classic cigarettes and I wouldn’t be afraid of them."

She does say that as a doctor, she cannot recommend them because they haven't been evaluated, but goes on to say that "it is almost zero risk"

She mentions the FDA study that found traces of nitrosamines but says that "this is really something close to zero danger"

When asked about their Govts plans to ban e-cigs in places where smoking is banned, she says "This doesn’t make sense to me"

And she concludes "To point out the dangers of e-cigarettes seems crazy compared to the dangers of classic cigarettes"

In my view, as a Medical Professional and head of the Czech Centre for Tobacco Addiction, she does seem fairly sensible about the subject. An attitude that some of our Doctors could learn from.


Read the full article here:


www.radio.cz/en/section/curraffrs/the-e-cigarette-phenomenon-study-finds-a-third-of-czech-smokers-have-tried-the-new-safe-cigarettes



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