In the UK, 46% of adults think the cost of smoking cessation products is too high. This is a potential barrier to smokers choosing to quit. Brands already use online tools, so consumers can calculate the savings made from quitting. However, there are also opportunities for smaller pack sizes to help consumers try out different formats and flavours until they find one that works for them.
Though it could benefit sales of smoking cessation products, the impending ban on disposable e-cigarettes is a threat to the wider market. The clampdowns on easy-to-use disposable formats could isolate large user bases and prompt them to quit. The announcement of the legislation has also ignited a national conversation about the potential negative impacts of vaping and nicotine usage, and could turn public attitudes against refillable e-cigarette brands and present a challenge for the UK vape market.
As the smoking cessation category struggles to grow, one of the biggest opportunities is to begin offering more personalised approaches. Currently, the messaging from smoking cessation brands is similar, but there are opportunities to disrupt the category with brands that speak to younger audiences, to consumers who are trying to quit vaping, or to address different concerns like gaining weight when quitting. Using AI to offer personalised approaches could improve cessation attempt outcomes.
This report looks at the following areas:
- The short-, medium- and long-term impact of regulatory changes on the smoking cessation category
- Evolving consumer attitudes towards smoking cessation
- Consumer usage of cigarettes and e-cigarettes, and how this varies between age groups
- How to integrate digital advancements in the smoking cessation category
- Consumer attitudes towards the environmental impact of e-cigarettes
The smoking cessation category is struggling to compete with e-cigarettes, which are used by smokers who are quitting and trading down from regular cigarettes.
Georgia Stafford, Beauty & Personal Care Analyst
Market Definitions
This report covers smoking cessation products, as well as electronic cigarettes.
Smoking cessation products are defined as those products intended to assist and support smokers who are attempting to quit smoking. This includes NRTs (Nicotine Replacement Therapies), which deliver a measured dose of nicotine to a smoker, replacing the nicotine usually obtained from cigarettes.
E-cigarettes are defined as electronic inhalers, designed to stimulate and act as a substitute for tobacco. The majority deliver nicotine when inhaled.
Sales data for smoking cessation gum, lozenges, patches, mists, inhalers, sprays and melts is included in the Market size and forecast, Channels to market and Market share sections.
Sales data for e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches is excluded from Mintel’s Market size, Forecast, Channels to market and Market share sections, but estimates for value sales of the products have been included in the Report for context.