E-cigarettes: Could they change the tobacco industry forever?

After losing market share, Big Tobacco is going into the e-cig business

E-cigarettes are about half the cost irregular cigarettes and can also help consumers quit the habit.
(Image credit: REUTERS/Christian Hartmann)

Sales in cigarettes dropped 6.2 percent in the first quarter of 2012 — a jump from the 3 percent to 4 percent declines they've seen in recent years.

Meanwhile, sales of e-cigarettes — those battery-powered tubes you see people puffing indoors — have doubled. According to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2011, 21 percent of smokers had tried e-cigs, up from 10 percent in 2010. And after making $500 million last year, retail sales of e-cigs are expected to balloon to $1 billion in 2013, says the Wall Street Journal.

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Carmel Lobello is the business editor at TheWeek.com. Previously, she was an editor at DeathandTaxesMag.com.