The withdrawal of European and American tobacco manufacturers and the gradual reduction of foreign e-cigarette brands doing business in Russia due to the Ukrainian war have made the growth of Chinese e-cigarettes in Russia possible.
Since the Russian tobacco industry relies heavily on the support and investment of foreign brands, the withdrawal of international tobacco companies will lead to a large shortage in the Russian tobacco market, which will lead to a sharp increase in the price of tobacco products sold in Russia.
By the end of 2021, there will be more than 5,000 stores selling e-cigarettes in Russia, including more than 1,100 in the Moscow region.
According to the platform DNA REALTY, the number of tobacco shops in Russia will grow by at least 20% by 2022, with most of the profits coming from e-cigarette sales.
BAT has announced that it will withdraw from the Russian and Belarusian tobacco markets in 2023. Philip Morris International (PMI) and its subsidiary Fimo International are also considering retaining their operations in Russia, which is PMI's seventh-largest tobacco market.
Japan Tobacco suspended investments in Russia, and Imperial Tobacco transferred its Russian operations to a successor in Russia.
"In Russia, e-cigarettes have great potential as an alternative to the tobacco market, and e-cigarette consumers account for 6.8% of the total number of smokers." The article stated. “Russia is the third largest importer of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) in the world after the US and Europe.”
"China accounts for 90% of the global market. In 2021, China's exports to Russia amounted to 82.5 billion rubles. This year it may increase by 35% to 111 billion rubles."