Cigarettes are getting bigger.
The industry is also getting bigger as more people become addicted to them, according to a new report.
The report, released Thursday by the Electronic Cigarette Trade Association (ECTA), a nonprofit organization that represents manufacturers, distributors, retailers and e-cig manufacturers, showed that total sales of e-cigarettes and other nicotine products are expected to hit $7.2 billion by 2019, a 20% jump over the current year.
The market is expected to grow another 10% over that time, with sales expected to more than triple over the next five years, the report said.
The increase in demand will come from the growing number of Americans who smoke, and that is a big driver of the increase in sales, the study said.
“While it is true that e-cigs are a relatively new and niche product, they are growing quickly,” ECTA President John Moulton said in a statement.
“By 2020, they will be more than a billion dollars in the market.”
A key ingredient in the electronic cigarette, which has exploded in popularity in the past few years, is a battery that delivers a nicotine dose via an electronic cigarette cartridge that is then inserted into the mouth.
A user of e.cigs who has used them for a year or more will receive a nicotine boost.
The ECTAs report also showed that the number of people who smoke in the U.S. increased by 2.3 million from 2016 to 2019.
E-cigarette use in the country increased by 10% from 2016 through 2019, and the number who were using them doubled over that period.
By 2019, about 3% of adults in the United States were trying e-Cigarettes, the research showed.
More than 80% of e cigs sold in the nation are manufactured overseas, and some countries have been slow to allow their market to develop, according the report.
“The U.K. is still lagging behind and there is still a lot of uncertainty around e-liquid regulation,” Moulson said.
