Canadian Vaping Company Cooperates with International Tobacco Company

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Dec. 12, 2017) - As part of a six-month pilot project, Canadian retail chain 180 Smoke Vape Store will make a brand of Heat-Not-Burn technology available to adult smokers in some of its retail locations in the Greater Toronto Area.

The introduction of Heat-Not-Burn technology is part of a larger move to expand its harm reduction product offering beyond vaping. Earlier this year, the company introduced drug testing kits.

"We have been providing alternatives for smokers since 2013. The science behind Heat-Not-Burn seems promising, and with a large number of customers asking about them, we wanted to make them available," said Dr. Gopal Bhatnagar, co-founder of 180 Smoke Vape Store.

This may seem like an unlikely cooperation, since 180 Smoke has traditionally focused on vaping as a means of harm reduction-a stance that many would consider the antithesis to tobacco. "When vaping was first introduced, people dismissed it because they felt it's the same as smoking tobacco. Today we know that it's not true. Just because this product is manufactured by a large tobacco company doesn't mean smokers should not get access to it," said Boris Giller, CEO. "There's a segment of adult smokers who just aren't satisfied with vaping as an alternative. They end up giving up and going back to their deadly cigarette smoking habit. That is very tragic. This segment could have you found Heat-Not-Burn technology of value," added Giller.

180 Smoke is uniquely positioned for this pilot, since its stores are already 19+ and its customers are exclusively (former) smokers. Earlier this year, the company converted over 25,000 adult smokers to vaping as part a campaign. The campaign sales data were analyzed to understand patterns of usage and drop-off.

"We were very pleased with success of the campaign; however we noticed about 30% of customers dropped off within a month. Anecdotal evidence shows that plenty of people want the taste of actual tobacco, which vaping sometimes fails to provide. This prompted us to look at more alternatives with an open mind, and hence this pilot," Giller added.

About 180 Smoke Vape Store: https://www.180smoke.ca/about-us