[By 2Firsts] According to a study shared with 2Firsts by Imperial Brands, the company has carried out two new behavioural studies into its vape product, blu, showing how adult smokers use it in their daily lives to reduce – or even replace – cigarettes.
Imperial Brands’ behavioural scientists tracked adult smokers who had no plans to quit at the study outset, and found the following:
● After just one week, significant numbers of participants had shifted from smoking cigarettes to vaping blu – with an average fall in smoking rates of almost 29%.
● Vaping blu led to a sharp drop in how many cigarettes were smoked per day (an average of almost 30% across both studies).
● Authentic fruit and mint flavours were a crucial part of subjects’ switching journeys, helping them transition from smoking cigarettes to vaping blu – in one of the studies, almost 29% of subjects exclusively used fruit flavours.
● Flavours also encouraged subjects to continue vaping and not return to cigarettes – with 60% in one study saying they planned to purchase blu in the future because they liked the flavours offered.
● Longer term follow-up – around six months later – revealed that between a third and 40% of subjects had either significantly reduced smoking cigarettes, or even stopped completely.
Elizabeth Clarke, Scientific Substantiation & Engagement Lead at Imperial Brands, commented:
“This latest consumer scientific research demonstrates blu’s exciting potential to help adult smokers either substantially reduce, or completely stop, using cigarettes. This is potentially extremely positive news for public health.
However, we’ve only scratched the surface of the rich insights from these studies. Scientists are currently analysing the data to find out more about individuals’ switching journeys.
The intention is to gain an even better understanding of consumer behaviour to inform future innovation pipelines and support adult smokers in their journeys to give up cigarettes.”
Thomas Nahde, Head of Harm Reduction & Engagement at Imperial Brands, added:
“Consumer preferences, next generation products, and the tobacco harm reduction debate itself continue to evolve at pace – and we are committed to ensuring the accompanying scientific research does too.
These behavioural studies demonstrate actual harm reduction. We’re excited to use the results to show that responsibly manufactured and marketed vapes – including blu – can help make a positive contribution to public health.”
Both studies are set to be submitted for publication in the peer-reviewed academic literature later this year. The study findings will also be presented in more detail at the Global Forum on Nicotine 2025 in Warsaw (19–21 June).
Imperial Brands states that it is committed to making a meaningful contribution to the public health concept of tobacco harm reduction (THR) through its next generation products (NGP).
The company previously conducted in-market research demonstrating how its heated tobacco system, PULZE & iD, helped adult subjects either substantially reduce – or even completely stop – smoking cigarettes.
A video of the in-market study featuring PULZE & iD is available online
The studies were conducted in collaboration with Russell Burnett Research and Consultancy Ltd (RBRC) and the Centre for Substance Use Research Ltd (CSUR).
Christopher Russell, Director of Russell Burnett Research and Consultancy, who led the studies, said:
“The available evidence suggests that switching from cigarettes to e-vapor products can substantially reduce a person’s exposure to toxins that can cause cancer, lung disease, and heart disease. Results from these two studies demonstrate the potential for regular use of disposable or rechargeable blu vaping products for six weeks to help around 4-in-10 adults to either completely stop smoking or to cut the number of cigarettes they smoke each day by at least half. Indeed, some people cut their daily smoking in half within the first seven days of using blu products. Overall, these results indicate blu vaping products can make an important contribution to reducing adult smoking rates and the associated health consequences.”
Neil McKeganey, Director of Centre for Substance Use Research, said:
“These studies were pioneering in a key respect. We gave each of our study participants a pre-funded personal debit card that they could use for six weeks solely to purchase blu vaping products from stores in their communities any time they wished. Participants were then completely free to choose whether they used these products, when and for how long they used them, and whether they continued to use these products beyond the study period. Our research showed that in the real-world circumstances of these individuals’ lives, blu vaping products were not only satisfying and appealing, but were an effective tool in enabling them to quit smoking.”
Note 1: 421 subjects; product was blu bar. Study 2: 429 subjects; product was blu 2.0. Research took place in London, UK and lasted 6 weeks, with follow-up at 24 weeks.
Note 2: In week 1 of the studies, the combined number of cigarettes smoked fell from a mean of 83.4 to 59.5 per participant.
Note 3: For the purposes of the studies, ‘substantial reductions’ was defined as a >50% reduction in cigarettes smoked per day.
