Your big hang up is you think VLN is all they have to offer. Why are you thinking so 2 dimensional?
BAT largely interested in high nicotine tobacco per public court documents. I don't know about you but if BAT licenses out their High Nicotine tobacco I will make a "handsome" profit.
You ask "why hasn't anyone licensed yet" but you're failing to acknowledge that right now, BAT and XXII are the only ones allowed to have the keys to the bread and butter patents for tobacco. Why does BAT have to move fast? Did they move fast to Vuse? No they were LAST out into the market (for the big guys)... But guess who the leader in ecigs are right now? Yes that's right -- vuse. So again, what's the hurry if they have the patents locked down until Oct 1 of this year? Why show their cards now and make moves when PM has a modified risk IQOS application recently submitted or when the mom and pop vape cos are still crying because the FDA gave Vape on a silver platter to Big T and want the rule changed?
I've said it a million times, but VLN isn't a silver bullet. Did it not prove in studies to be a little more effective than gum cessation? Doesn't RJR and BAT own cessation products? You're telling the board here that Big Tobacco would be against a product that MAY help smokers quit (a little better than gum) but probably won't according to the statistics. Sounds like a product Big T and FDA can reach across the aisle on to me, or at least a product that can be used as leverage so the each entity can get what they want. It's a give/take relationship with FDA/Big T.
Let's just go back to high nicotine a second. BAT WAS doing this through genetic modification already 10-20 yrs ago but they got their hand slapped.
It's not just product differentiation but I could fathom there would be a lot of cost savings utilizing it too. Less tobacco leaf would need to be used when making any combustible. Cheaper raw materials could be used. Less growers utilized, less logistics, I'm sure I'm not even thinking about some. To the same point, a VLN could be used to mix into tobacco blends to create less intense nicotine combustibles.
Did you happen to catch where it was mentioned that BATs Voke, which is a legit cessation aid in Europe, uses the same nicotine content as VLN cig?
Couple that with documents and facts stating PM tried to do a VLN and felt there was money to be made in marketing a product to the "I want to quit" crowd.
Do a bit more reading and digging, then think through it. So many ways to make $$ here but until BAT does something by Oct 1 or loses the ability to use those patents we won't see it.
I said it once already to you, but to me, your posts are almost borderline misleading. I would advise anyone else holding or considering buying to research anything I listed above. I'm sure there's more out there that contradicts what you're posting.
AI
