Why Did Vaping Become Popular? Why Did It Cool Down? What Will Happen in the Future?

This year, capital began to enter the e-cigarette market with great fanfare, but before fully understanding what e-cigarettes are, policies in November poured cold water on the situation. On November 1, online sales of e-cigarettes were banned, and on November 7, there were calls to actively promote local control of e-cigarettes.
 
01 Why Did E-Cigarettes Become Popular?

1.1 Market Demand

It meets the basic need to satisfy nicotine cravings, just like traditional cigarettes. Essentially, it is still a dependence on nicotine. From this perspective, claiming that e-cigarettes have a smoking cessation effect is misleading users.

1.2 Product Characteristics

E-cigarettes are marketed as having lower harm, allowing users to lower their guard against the dangers of smoking. From a cost structure perspective, e-cigarettes are less harmful than traditional cigarettes. Traditional cigarette hazards include nicotine, tar, formaldehyde, benzene, lead, propylene glycol, carbon dioxide, and various chemical components and known carcinogens. E-cigarette hazards consist of nicotine, propylene glycol, glycerin, etc.

Youth Appeal. "Cool, fun, fruity flavors..." It’s clear who they are trying to entice. This satisfies the curiosity and vanity of this demographic (which has slightly deviated from the need to satisfy nicotine cravings).

1.3 External Opportunities

E-cigarettes have been around for over a decade, but this year they gained popularity due to capital investment and the rapid expansion of online channels, as there is no competition from traditional cigarettes online.
 
Seeing the above list is quite alarming.

02 Why Did E-Cigarettes Cool Down?

2.1 Policies Are Direct Hits

The U.S. banned flavored e-cigarettes, and China prohibited online sales of e-cigarettes. Companies are being restricted from engaging in gimmicks and closing off online sales channels, forcing manufacturers to behave more responsibly.

2.2 The Essence Is Lack of Standards and Regulation

The U.S. has seen dozens of cases of deaths linked to e-cigarettes, a direct consequence of the industry's chaotic practices. Without standards and regulations, while claiming lower harm, in practice, who is not trying to maximize profits by adding various additives? Who cares about consumer safety? E-cigarettes resemble products without quality assurance. Just thinking about the hundreds of OEM factories in Shenzhen, selling products globally, is truly frightening.

Various marketing ads are wildly promoting e-cigarettes as cool, fun, and stylish, clearly enticing young people to smoke. From the perspective of satisfying user psychology (young people's curiosity and desire to show off), young people, especially minors, lack psychological defenses. What exactly do these products satisfy? Fun? Or nicotine cravings?

03 What Will Happen to E-Cigarettes in the Future?

3.1 Establish Industry Standards

E-cigarettes = traditional cigarette substitutes, so the essential needs they address should be the same, and we cannot dismiss e-cigarettes entirely. The key is to establish standards at the regulatory level to regulate profit-seeking behaviors of businesses.

3.2 Serious Regulation

Traditional cigarettes are heavily regulated, and e-cigarettes must also be strictly regulated. We cannot allow businesses to add random ingredients, nor sell to minors.