Pursuits

E-Cigarettes: A $1.5 Billion Industry Braces for FDA Regulation

E-cigarettes are cheaper, cleaner, more flavorful, and less harmful than tobacco, and could make entrepreneurs billions. They could also go up in a puff of regulatory smoke

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By Megan McArdle

February 7, 2014 at 9:30 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

BusinessWeek Cover Image (14_07, 1600x2398)

This article is part of the February 10, 2014 issue of businessweek.

The first time J. Andries Verleur tried an e-cigarette in 2008, he burned his lip and accidentally inhaled the nicotine fluid. “It was one of the worst products I ever tried,” he recalls, “but the idea was amazing.”