HOW TECHNOLOGY IS CHANGING THE CIGARETTE BUSINESS

For years, the cigarette industry was a prosperous one. There was a growing demand for cigarettes, with people from all walks of life lighting up together, and sharing in one common vice. However, in recent times, the industry has seen a decline in the number of people who use their product. There are many different explanations for this, but the most common are the recent changes in technology and the effect that has on the industry. 

So how does technology change the cigarette business? 

Modern technology is causing a detriment to the cigarette business, and this is primarily down to the introduction of vaping. When vaping was introduced, it was marketing as being a healthier substitute to regular smoking, containing none of the harmful chemicals which are usually present, such as the carbon monoxide and the tar which is generally a serious health concern for the people who use them. This means that those who smoke and may or may not have a nicotine addiction can now switch to a vaping device, which can be filled with nicotine infused e-liquid, and thus abandon the standard cigarettes for a healthier counterpart.

Aside from the introduction of vaping as being a much healthier and safer alternative, another way in which technology changes the cigarette industry is the advancement of medical technology. At a certain point in time, the health risks which were commonplace with smoking were unknown, due to an inability to research the ill effects, in part due to unsophisticated and underdeveloped technology. However, medical technology and research tools have progressed and developed, to the point where we can identify these health concerns. For example, the carbon monoxide and tar within the average cigarette are linked to an increased likelihood of lung cancer, and there are hundreds of studies conducted by reputable professionals across the world, and all of them point to that conclusion. The 1950’s saw one of the first connections between smoking and lung cancer established, with Sir Richard Doll heading a team from Oxford University, who established the link between the two. This is in part due to the irreparable damage which is caused when the carbon monoxide and tar from the cigarettes gets into the lungs, and also creates a breeding ground for cancerous cells.

Overall, the rise in modern technology has led to a decline the use of cigarettes, and thus a distinct decrease in a number of cigarettes sold each year. While this is in part due to the progressing medical knowledge and research capabilities that can identify and prove the connection between smoking and harmful diseases, it is mostly due to the rise of vaping. Since their creation in 2003 as an early prototype, they have been marketed as being a much more healthy way to smoke and enjoy nicotine without the ill effects of cigarettes. While they may have started life as being quite simplistic, and also looking like regular cigarettes, the devices have evolved and progressed with modern technology to become to tanks and cartometer based devices we see today, which can utilise a broad range of different flavours of vapour, as well as adjustable strengths of nicotine, in order to create an alternative to smoking which is healthier, safer, and is much more pleasant and less of a health risk to the general public, or anyone who is in the vicinity of someone who vapes.