Current Status and Trends in Smokeless Tobacco Product Technology

Liu Yali, Hong Qunye, Zheng Lu, Zheng Xinzhang, Jia Nan, Qiu Jiqing, Zhou Yaning
China Tobacco Science and Technology Information Center, No. 2 Fengyang Street, Zhengzhou High-tech Industrial Development Zone, 450001

Abstract: In order to understand the technical characteristics and development trends of smokeless tobacco product R&D abroad, patents related to smokeless tobacco product technology from 1985 to 2014 were analyzed using the Thomson Innovation patent analysis tool. This systematically reveals the R&D status and trends, research hotspots, and technology distribution of smokeless tobacco products over the past 30 years. The analysis shows that patent application trends are greatly influenced by policy; China and the United States are the main countries filing patents for smokeless tobacco product technology; the R&D hotspots differ across three categories of smokeless tobacco products; and companies represented by multinational tobacco firms have become the dominant force in smokeless tobacco product technology R&D through acquisitions and mergers.
Keywords: smokeless tobacco products; patent technology; patent analysis; development trends
Citation: Liu Yali, Hong Qunye, Zheng Lu, et al. Current Status and Trends in Smokeless Tobacco Product Technology [J]. Acta Tabacaria Sinica, 2015, 21(3)

Geographic Distribution
Geographic distribution refers to the number of patent applications filed in a given country or region. Table 1 shows the top 10 countries, regions, or organizations by number of patent applications for e-cigarettes and oral tobacco, accounting for 83.2% and 77.2% of global patent applications for e-cigarettes and oral tobacco, respectively, making them key competitive regions for R&D in these technical fields. The top two filing locations for both e-cigarettes and oral tobacco are China and the United States. The World Intellectual Property Organization and the European Patent Office rank third and fourth, respectively, as filing destinations. In addition, Canada, Australia, and Asian countries such as South Korea and Japan also demonstrate strong competitiveness.

2.3.2 E-cigarettes

Table 3 lists the top 10 patent holders by number of e-cigarette patent applications. Unlike heated tobacco product patents, which are concentrated among a small number of large tobacco companies, e-cigarette patent holders are relatively dispersed. In addition to international tobacco companies such as Philip Morris International (first), R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (third), Imperial Tobacco (sixth), British American Tobacco (seventh), and Japan Tobacco (eighth), some individuals and non-tobacco companies also have relatively large numbers of patent applications. Among them, the sixth-ranked Fontem Holdings is a wholly owned subsidiary of Imperial Tobacco, which acquired the e-cigarette intellectual property of Dragonite International Limited (formerly Ruyan Group Limited) in 2013 [5]. The tenth-ranked Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. is a subsidiary of British American Tobacco [6]. In recent years, multinational tobacco companies have entered the smokeless tobacco products market through acquisitions and mergers, thereby complementing the gradually shrinking traditional cigarette market.

China is currently the world’s largest producer of e-cigarettes, and the vast majority of e-cigarettes consumed globally are manufactured by China’s private enterprises [7]. Shenzhen-area e-cigarette companies represented by Huizhou Jierui Technology Co., Ltd. (fourth), Shenzhen Eigate Technology Co., Ltd. (eighth), Shenzhen Mcwell Technology Co., Ltd., and Joyetech (Changzhou) Electronics Co., Ltd. have not only filed a large number of e-cigarette patents, but are also committed to the R&D and production of e-cigarette products. In addition, Liu Qiuming has filed more personal patent applications than all companies except Philip Morris, and among the e-cigarette patents filed by Huizhou Jierui Technology Co., Ltd., Liu Qiuming is the first inventor on most of them. Hon Lik is currently recognized as the inventor of the e-cigarette [7]. He not only holds foundational patents in the e-cigarette field, but has also jointly filed a large number of e-cigarette patents with Imperial Tobacco (Fontem Holdings).