Big Tobacco Opens Stores to Sell Cigarette Alternatives

As cigarette sales decline and smoking alternatives become increasingly popular, major tobacco companies are shifting their resources and adopting tactics from the vaping industry to promote sales of their next-generation products.

 British American Tobacco (BAT) has opened a storefront in Milan to sell its Vype vaping products and educate consumers on how to use them properly, according to The Wall Street Journal.

To attract adult consumers during the decline of cigarette sales in the UK and offer more variety, BAT on Thursday launched another vaping device, Pebble.

 True to its name, Pebble is shaped like a pebble, feels comfortable in the hand, and is designed to fit neatly in the user’s palm. Its battery is designed to last all day, and its e-liquid is available in four different nicotine strengths and six flavors, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Pebble will join the Vype lineup and will be sold in BAT’s physical stores, as the British tobacco giant becomes increasingly focused on retail and follows the example of its competitor Philip Morris International. On Wednesday, Philip Morris International opened a store in London to sell its heat-not-burn product IQOS. 

BAT has spent a total of $1 billion on its next-generation products over the past five years, and as cigarette sales continue to shrink, it plans to invest even more in smoking alternatives.

This major investment is in line with the strategy of its competitor Philip Morris International, which believes that sales of smoking alternatives will eventually surpass traditional cigarette sales, as fewer people light up cigarettes and many former smokers switch to smoke-free products.