Answers increasing demand for information on vaping
- Providing smokers and vapers with facts about vaping supporting BAT's ambition to build A Better Tomorrow by reducing the health impact of its business
- VapeExplained.com a one-stop online hub providing factual answers to the most commonly searched online questions
- Topics related to vaping driving over 700,000 monthly internet searches
The BAT Group (BAT) has today launched VapeExplained.com, a digital information hub providing adult smokers and vapers with factual answers to the questions most commonly searched for online.
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How vaping devices work (Photo: Business Wire)
Based on search engine analytics regarding vaping queries, VapeExplained.com helps adult smokers and vapers make informed decisions about vaping. The site also provides important information on the role these products can play as a potentially reduced risk alternative to smoking.
The site launches at a time when smokers and vapers face increasing challenges to find clear and balanced information regarding vaping. A simple online search engine query for 'vaping information' delivers over 38million results.
In the past five years, there has been a 14-fold increase in media articles on vaping, offering a confusing mix of divergent views depending on the writer or the organisation.
To find answers about vaping, smokers and vapers are increasingly turning to the internet. In 2020, there were more than 700,000 monthly internet searches for questions about vaping in the US and UK alone. Of these, approximately 70,000 searches specifically ask about the dangers of vaping.
VapeExplained.com is built on the company's vast technical expertise of over 1,500 scientists and engineers, and the experiences of offering vaping products in over 26 countries around the world.
The site is a key initiative in BAT's transformation journey as the Group builds A Better Tomorrow by reducing the health impact of its business through offering a range of enjoyable and potentially reduced risk products. BAT continues to be clear that combustible cigarettes pose serious health risks, and the only way to avoid these risks is not to start or to quit. BAT encourages those who otherwise continue to smoke, to switch completely to scientifically-substantiated, reduced-risk alternatives.
Kingsley Wheaton, BAT's Chief Marketing Officer, said
"BAT is committed to building A Better Tomorrow by reducing the health impact of our business. We have set ourselves a target of having 50 million users of our non-combustible products by 2030. To achieve this ambition, we must ensure adult consumers have access to the facts about the potentially reduced-risk alternatives available to them. VapeExplained.com is where smokers and vapers can find clear, simple, fact-based information from a well-known source. I hope this helps them to make more informed decisions about vaping."
The site can be accessed at: www.vapeexplained.com. It will be available in the UK and the US and will expand into other countries in 2021.
ENDS
Notes to editors
Research references
Term "vaping information" searched via Google on 2nd December 2020.
Factiva search data, conducted in November 2020, using the terms ("vaping" OR "vape" OR "e-cigarette" OR "e-cigarettes") shows the volume of media articles on vaping in 2015 was 2,465, compared to 34,812 in 2020.
About Vape Explained
VapeExplained.com is a one-stop digital information hub providing adult smokers and vapers with balanced, factual answers to some of the most commonly asked internet search questions about vaping. Vape Explained is not operated for advertising or marketing purposes and the website does not advertise, sell, or offer promotions for products.
About BAT
BAT is a leading, multi-category consumer goods business, established in 1902. Our purpose is to build A Better Tomorrow by reducing the health impact of our business which entails:
- Committing to providing adult consumers with a wide range of enjoyable and less risky products
- Continuing to be clear that combustible cigarettes pose serious health risks, and the only way to avoid these risks is not to start or to quit
- Encouraging those who otherwise continue to smoke, to switch completely to scientifically-substantiated, reduced-risk alternatives
- Tracking and sharing progress of our transformation
The company has announced a target of increasing the number of its non-combustible product consumers to 50 million by 2030; and to achieve at least £5 billion in New Categories revenues in by 2025.
Forward Looking statements
This communication contains certain forward-looking statements, including "forward-looking" statements made within the meaning of Section 21E of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements are often, but not always, made through the use of words or phrases such as "believe," "anticipate," "could," "may," "would," "should," "intend," "plan," "potential," "predict," "will," "expect," "estimate," "project," "positioned," "strategy," "outlook", "target" and similar expressions. These include statements regarding our intentions, beliefs or current expectations concerning, amongst other things, our results of operations, financial condition, liquidity, prospects, growth, strategies and the economic and business circumstances occurring from time to time in the countries and markets in which the BAT Group operates.
All such forward-looking statements involve estimates and assumptions that are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual future financial condition, performance and results to differ materially from the plans, goals, expectations and results expressed in the forward-looking statements and other financial and/or statistical data within this communication. Among the key factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements are uncertainties related to the following: the impact of competition from illicit trade; the impact of adverse domestic or international legislation and regulation; changes in domestic or international tax laws and rates and the impact of an unfavourable ruling by a tax authority in a disputed area; adverse litigation and dispute outcomes and the effect of such outcomes on the BAT Group's financial condition; changes or differences in domestic or international economic or political conditions; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; adverse decisions by domestic or international regulatory bodies; the impact of market size reduction and consumer down-trading; translational and transactional foreign exchange rate exposure; the impact of serious injury, illness or death in the workplace; the ability to maintain credit ratings and to fund the business under the current capital structure; the inability to develop, commercialise and rollout New Categories; and changes in the market position, businesses, financial condition, results of operations or prospects of the BAT Group.
It is believed that the expectations reflected in this communication are reasonable, but they may be affected by a wide range of variables that could cause actual results to differ materially from those currently anticipated. Past performance is no guide to future performance and persons needing advice should consult an independent financial adviser. The forward-looking statements reflect knowledge and information available at the date of preparation of this communication and the BAT Group undertakes no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements.
No statement in this communication is intended to be a profit forecast and no statement in this communication should be interpreted to mean that earnings per share of BAT for the current or future financial years would necessarily match or exceed the historical published earnings per share of BAT.
Additional information concerning these and other factors can be found in British American Tobacco p.l.c.'s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including the Annual Report on Form 20-F filed on 26 March 2020 and Current Reports on Form 6-K, which may be obtained free of charge at the SEC's website, http://www.sec.gov, and the Company's Annual Reports, which may be obtained free of charge from the British American Tobacco website www.bat.com.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201203005527/en/
Contacts:
FTI Consulting/ BAT Press Office
Ralph Charlton
BAT_SC@fticonsulting.com/ press_office@bat.com