United Arab Emirates (UAE) E-cigarette Market Overview, 2028

The UAE region is now experiencing a major increase in demand for e-cigarettes as people become more aware of the dangers of smoking traditional cigarettes. Aside from that, prominent manufacturers are concentrating on the release of next-generation e-cigarettes with prefilled or refillable pod systems. To expand their product line and enhance existing sales, these producers are also producing a wide range of new designs and flavors, such as powerful espresso and sweet cinnamon. Aside from that, market participants are relying on aggressive promotional techniques to reach a larger audience in the region, particularly young adults. These factors are expected to drive the expansion of the e-cigarette industry in the future. On account of these factors, the market is expected to continue its strong growth during the forecast period. Some of the key players in the market are British American Tobacco, Joyetech Changzhou Electronics Co., VIP Electronic Cigarettes, Philip Morris Products S.A., and Aspire. The Council of Ministers established the UAE's required standards to strengthen efforts to prevent smoking and diseases in the UAE. S 5030: Electronic Nicotine Products is an obligatory UAE standard that was implemented earlier in a government endeavour by the Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology (ESMA). to support the government's efforts to minimise smoking and combat illness, as well as to curb the spread of electronic cigarettes and analogue products in the country's markets and outlets.

According to the research report, "UAE E-cigarette Market Overview, 2028," published by Bonafide Research, the market is projected to add USD 27,69 million by 2028. In terms of product type, the modular devices category held the largest market at around 50% in 2022. The key element driving the category is the devices' high-level customization ability to integrate multiple functionalities and components. These elements and components, depending on individual preferences, alter the flavour and volume of vapour produced by the device. The regular organisation of vaping events, including conferences and contests, increases the need for modular devices. Furthermore, the Next Generation e-cigarette category is predicted to develop significantly throughout the projection period due to features such as portability, lightweight, and discretion. Because of their popularity among teenagers, flavours such as tobacco and botanical account for more than 50% of the overall market share. Fruit flavour is expected to develop quickly during the forecast period due to rising consumer demand, particularly for the taste of real fruits. The UAE e-cigarette market is expected to expand as the Arabian population's preference for the product grows since it reduces tobacco cravings, reduces the consumption of traditional cigarettes, and is less dangerous than traditional cigarettes. Furthermore, the health risks associated with e-cigarette use are lower than those associated with traditional cigarette use, leading to rising e-cigarette use in Arabian countries. Furthermore, the government has supported e-cigarettes as a public health solution to eliminate traditional smoking habits, increasing knowledge about the benefits of e-cigarettes over traditional smoking techniques.

As per the World Bank, the UAE will have a population of 10.08 million in 2021, with 6.93 million men and 3.13 million women. 1.5 million of the entire population are under the age of 14. 6.55 million People are between the ages of 25 and 54. There are 8.2 million urban residents and 1.26 million rural residents. According to the World Bank, the UAE's GDP in 2020 was USD 358.87 billion, the inflation rate was -2.1%, and the per capita income was USD 36,284.6 (2020). According to additional statistics, the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP) previously conducted the National Health Survey (2017–2018) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which revealed that 9.1% of adults presently smoke (15.7% of males and 2.4% of females) and that the average age of smoking initiation was 20.2 years. Among smokers aged 18 to 27, 43.6% used e-cigarettes, 14.5% used traditional cigarettes, 12.6% used water pipes, and 57.3% used media. Another recent cross-sectional study conducted across three public universities in the UAE discovered that the prevalence of tobacco smoking among university students was 15.1%, with medwakh (7.2%), regular cigarettes (5.5%), and waterpipe (shisha) (5.5%) being the most common patterns of tobacco use. A medaka, which is not widely used in Western countries, is used to smoke a mix (called "dokha") of dried tobacco with other herbs and spices and has several health consequences, including cardiovascular and respiratory issues. In this same study, the prevalence of e-cigarette use was 3.7%, and the main reasons for e-cigarette use were: liking the flavours (36.1%), to help quit smoking (34.4%), to have less harm than traditional tobacco for the smokers themselves (24.6%), and for other people (21.3%). In the study, male students were more likely to be e-cigarette smokers.

According to a recent study conducted in UAE universities, 90.4% of the population had previously heard about e-cigarettes, but only about a third (36.7%) had ever used an e-cigarette device, and around one-fifth (22.5%) had used an e-cigarette device in the preceding month. Among those who had used e-cigarettes at least once in their lives, the frequency in the previous month was as follows: not at all (38.6%), rarely (20.5%), some days (17.0%), and every day (23.9%); 27.3% had tried to quit using e-cigarettes at some point, while 53.4% believed that this question was irrelevant due to their infrequent use of the device. In the previous year, just 7.1% of those who had utilised an e-cigarette tried to completely switch from smoking regular cigarettes to using e-cigarettes. The top five reasons for having ever used e-cigarettes were the following: a friend or family member used them (64.8%), to try to quit using other tobacco products such as regular cigarettes (27.3%), availability in flavours such as mint and candy, fruit, or chocolate (19.6%), being less harmful than other forms of tobacco such as regular cigarettes (15.0%), and being able to be used in areas where other tobacco products such as regular cigarettes are not allowed (9.2%). The main sources of information about e-cigarettes were social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (67.1%), online advertising (29.2%), and newspapers or magazines (12.9%).

The majority of the market share was accounted for by the offline distribution channel, which included retail establishments. Initially, e-cigarettes were offered in retail establishments such as vape shops and gas stations. These stores helped clients choose from a variety of gadgets and e-liquids. Additionally, vape shops that allow customers to try out and test these devices before purchasing them are expected to boost the retail store category over the forecast period. Some well-known vape shops in Dubai are Vape Here Store, Let's Vape, IQOS Dubai, My Vapery, and Let's Vape. The increased online sales potential for e-cigarettes forced suppliers to tighten their online purchasing systems in terms of security and dependability, resulting in increased demand for these things online. To compete with the growing popularity of vaping devices, flavor and fragrance sellers are offering a diverse range of e-liquids. Different flavors, such as menthol, mint, chocolate, cola, bubble gum, and fusions of other fruits and flavouring substances are luring a large number of consumers to adopt these e-cigarette devices.

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Manmayi Raval

Research Consultant

Recent Development:
• In November 2019, the Dubai Department of Economic Development (DED) recently introduced a new activity called "Electronic cigarettes and accessories trading" under the "Tobacco and Smoking Accessories Trading" group. This activity is available for mainland LLCs and will legally allow the investors to engage in e-cigarette trading in the local market.
• September 2019: Before 2019, selling electronic cigarettes in Dubai was also illegal; in April 2019, the Emirates Government Consumer Supervision Agency, the Emirates Standardization and Measurement Authority (ESMA), confirmed the new regulations for electronic cigarettes: as long as the manufacturer’s electronic cigarettes meet the new standards and carry health warnings similar to those on cigarette packages on the product packaging.

Covid-19 Impact:
The spread of COVID-19 has contributed to the decline of the UAE e-cigarette market due to disruptions in the supply chain and the discontinuation of production. Moreover, consequent disruptions in operations during the lockdown period in the country have affected the sales revenue for many of the top e-cigarette brands in the term and significantly contributed to the slow growth of the UAE e-cigarette market.

Considered in this report
• Geography: UAE
• Historic year: 2017
• Base year: 2022
• Estimated year: 2023
• Forecast year: 2028

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Aspects covered in this report
• UAE E-Cigarette market with its value and forecast along with its segments
• Various drivers and challenges
• On-going trends and developments
• Top profiled companies
• Strategic recommendation

By Product
• Modular E-Cigarette
• Rechargeable E-Cigarette
• Next-Generation E-Cigarette
• Disposable E-Cigarette
• Others

By Flavour
• Tobacco
• Botanical
• Fruit
• Sweet
• Beverage
• Others

By Battery Mode
• Automatic E-cigarette
• Manual E-cigarette

By Distribution Channel
• Offline
• Online

The approach of the report:
This report consists of a combined approach of primary as well as secondary research. Initially, secondary research was used to get an understanding of the market and list out the companies that are present in the market. The secondary research consists of third-party sources such as press releases, annual reports of companies, and analyzing government-generated reports and databases. After gathering the data from secondary sources primary research was conducted by making telephonic interviews with the leading players about how the market is functioning and then conducting trade calls with dealers and distributors of the market. Post this we have started doing primary calls to consumers by equally segmenting consumers into regional aspects, tier aspects, age groups, and gender. Once we have primary data with us we started verifying the details obtained from secondary sources.

Intended audience:
This report can be useful to industry consultants, manufacturers, suppliers, associations & organizations related to the e-cigarette industry, government bodies, and other stakeholders to align their market-centric strategies. In addition to marketing & presentations, it will also increase competitive knowledge about the industry.