Cordisco and other Reynolds executives told reporters at the product presentation in New York on Thursday that Vuse's advantage over hundreds of competitors is digital technology that maintains consistency in the taste of the nicotine vapor that users will be inhaling.

"A perfect puff, first time, every time," Cordisco said of Vuse, which combines the traditional shape of a cigarette with a metallic, high-tech look that Reynolds believes consumers looking to switch from regular cigarettes will prefer.

As she spoke, Danny Herko, Reynolds' senior vice president of research and development, stood next to Cordisco on stage at Pier 59 Studios, puffing contentedly on a Vuse and exhaling the vapor from the rechargeable device, whose name rhymes with "news."



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There will be three separate Vuse product offerings. The Solo package, which will retail for about $10, contains a single rechargeable e-cigarette, a USB charger, and either a original flavor or menthol cartridge (a cartridge being equivalent to about a pack of conventional cigarettes in terms of use). Refill cartridges will be sold in packages of two, at a price point of about $10.

The System package will retail for about $30. It contains an e-cigarette device, three cartridges, a USB charge, an AC wall adapter and a carrying case. None of the products will be sold online.

Reynolds' major competitors are already selling e-cigarettes or preparing to—a development that shows how seriously Big Tobacco is taking the new market as the industry faces the continued decline in traditional cigarette sales.



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Lorillard jumped into e-cigarettes last year by buying Blu Ecigs, a top-selling brand, for $135 million. And Altria, the parent of leading cigarette maker Phillip Morris, is planning to start selling e-cigarettes later this year.



Analysts have estimated that e-cigarettes sales will be as high as $1 billion this year—a fraction of the $80 billion of regular cigarettes expected to sell in the U.S., but nearly double 2012 sales. That is stunning growth, particularly given that the devices have only been around for a decade.