Vaping made headlines throughout 2017. There were exciting products and industry trends, questions of political “foul play,” as well as historic international breakthroughs and scientific research. Here’s a quick recap of what 2017 brought to the vaping industry:
1. A numbers game
2017 was a playground for statistics and figures when it comes to vaping. The steady rise of vaping coincides with the relative decline of traditional smoking. Both sides of the vaping argument cited these statistics. Projections indicate a continued climb for the foreseeable future.
The CDC revealed that 42% of the world’s vaping population live in America and worldwide sales of vaping products brought in more than $650 million.
2. Political shake-up
This year a big opponent of vaping and a distributor of misinformation surrounding its effects was fired in April. At the same time, the FDA conceded to delay some pending regulations. Many of which would have put vape shops and owners in a tough spot. Towards the end of the year, the FDA even suggested that e-cigs could now be considered part of a long-term solution to help America quit smoking.
3. International endorsement
The U.K.’s big “Stoptober” event promoted the use of e-cigs as a method to quit smoking. And celebrity use of vape kits on popular TV shows (House of Cards and Billions), has pushed vaping further from the fringes into mainstream pop culture.
4. Science chooses sides
Researchers and scientists studying vaping and its effects agree that we don’t yet know the long-term effects. But they also agree that e-cigs are significantly less harmful than their combustible equivalents.
We predict vaping will continue to make headlines and big news in 2018. Especially as supporting evidence about its safety compared to traditional cigarettes continues to mount.
