*

Unauthorised vapes make up 35% of tracked US e-cigarette

market

*

FDA authorised only 34 tobacco or menthol vape products

*

FDA crackdown on imports hits sales of some brands

By Emma Rumney

LONDON, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Sales of unauthorised,

flavoured disposable vapes in the United States amounted to

around $2.4 billion in 2024, or 35% of the e-cigarettes from

outlets such as convenience stores and supermarkets, according

to private retail sales data reviewed by Reuters.

That compares to sales worth $3.2 billion in 2023 and $2.8

billion in 2022, the data, which comes from market research firm

Circana, shows. The data was provided to Reuters by an industry

source outside of Circana.

Circana said it could not confirm or comment on the data as

it was not public.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has only authorised 34

tobacco- or menthol-flavoured vape products for legal sale in

the United States, all from big tobacco companies like British

American Tobacco ( BTI ) and Altria ( MO ).

The private Circana data tracked around 11,000 unauthorised

flavoured disposable e-cigarette products on the market from

hundreds of brands, spanning flavours such as "cookie and cloud"

and "magic cotton candy".

It provides a rare insight into the scale of illegal vape

sales across the U.S., where the market has been flooded with

unauthorised products.

Circana told Reuters that it estimates the entire vape

market it tracks, which includes authorised products as well as

non-disposable vapes, was worth $6.8 billion last year.

That would mean that flavoured disposable vapes account for

around 35% of the market tracked by Circana. The company's data

only tracks sales in certain channels such as convenience stores

and does not capture vapes sales made online, in independent

stores and in speciality vape outlets.

The figures showed a 25% contraction in flavoured disposable

vape sales since 2023. The industry source said Circana's 2024

numbers were preliminary and its data on disposable vapes had

been revised upwards in the past.

BAT and Marlboro-maker Altria ( MO ), whose U.S. tobacco and vape

businesses have lost market share to unauthorised products, say

the market is growing. Altria ( MO ) estimates the U.S. vape market

expanded by 30% in 2024, "driven entirely by illicit products,"

CEO Billy Gifford told a conference on February 19.

The data showed FDA efforts to crack down have had some

impact. Previously top-selling labels Esco Bars and Elf Bars

both dropped out of the top 10 most sold devices in 2024 after

the FDA blocked their imports in 2023. However, other brands

have taken their place.