Chief executive said company explored idea of competing by making their own e-cigarettes before deciding not to

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is feeling the heat from the rapid growth in sales of electronic cigarettes, with enthusiasm for the nicotine delivery devices dampening sales of the British drugmaker’s patches and gum, its chief executive said.

Andrew Witty also said he and his team had spent “a few days” exploring whether the drugmaker should compete directly by becoming an e-cigarette maker before ruling it out.

“We’ve decided we’re not going to play. We’ve consciously had a think about it but we’re not going to play,” he said, adding that e-cigarettes were “just too controversial” for GSK to want to commit to at this stage, particularly as there was insufficient data to provide robust evidence of the products’ risks and benefits.

“Of course, it’s definitely taken a bit of our market, no question at all – but there’s a lot of competition in that space anyway.”

GSK sells various nicotine replacement therapies and smoking cessation products, mainly in the form of patches or chewing gum, including the brands Nicorette, NicoDerm CQ and the medicine Zyban.

It is in the process of forming a consumer-health joint venture with Novartis, whose brands include Nicotinell, making the combined business the market leader in the $3bn-a-year (£2bn) smoking cessation market.

A study last year found smokers who switch to e-cigarettes to try to kick their tobacco habit are more likely to succeed in quitting or cutting down than users of nicotine patches.

But the electronic devices, sometimes known as vaporisers because of the vapour they produce, are the subject of fierce debate, with some experts concerned they may be a gateway to nicotine addiction and tobacco smoking.