All part of the plan following their acquisition by Altria (Phillip Morris). Altria already had the IQOS in development and the vape companies were eating into

All part of the plan following their acquisition by Altria (Phillip Morris). Altria already had the IQOS in development and the vape companies were eating into their customer base. By purchasing Juul Altria could publicly act as a vaping proponent while working behind the scenes to maintain Big Tobacco’s control over nicotine. Small, bathtub style operations locally cranking out custom vape juice flavors had to be shuttered. Enter the rash of negative press surrounding vaping and government intervention in the market (vitamin E acetate as the carrier for illicit THC and CBD vape juice was the ultimate culprit, not “e-cigarettes”). The small operations are not able to afford the expensive licensing required for each flavor, and states really aren’t interested in giving up the future money from Big Tobacco, against which they’ve issued bonds. This is a long play made by Altria, and watching it come to fruition has been amazing.