Lorillard Inc. (LO), Altria Group Inc (MO), Reynolds American, Inc. (RAI), Chew on This: Nicotine Gum Faces Growing E-Cig Threat

The FDA originally sought to prevent their importation but lost several court cases and now says so long as they’re not marketed as therapeutic, they’re legal. Lorillard Inc. (NYSE:LO) has become a big e-cig manufacturer, with more than $39 million in sales and enjoying a 30% share of the market. Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) estimates it will be a $1 billion in industry sales in a few years, which may prove too lucrative an option for Altria Group Inc (NYSE:MO) , the biggest tobacco company and one still on the e-cig sidelines. Reynolds American, Inc. (NYSE:RAI) plans to play all sides, as it will soon introduce both e-cigs and NRT gum.

Although it’s doubtful e-cigs will ever get the same establishment support as nicotine gum and patches — some states are trying to regulate them and ban them out of existence — it could mark a new period for smokers to choose an option that doesn’t require them to be second-class citizens, separate and not even equal.

While warning labels on NRTs were never in the same league as the graphic images on cigarette packages that failed to muster judicial support, the new labeling rules could be an impetus for additional growth while allowing them to maintain their marketplace advantage.

The article Chew on This: Nicotine Gum Faces Growing E-Cig Threat originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Rich Duprey owns shares of Pfizer. The Motley Fool recommends Goldman Sachs and Johnson & Johnson and owns shares of Johnson & Johnson.

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