Cigarette detectors use specially designed sensors to analyze air quality for signs of tobacco smoke
Younger consumers prefer this channel due to discreet delivery options and access to global brands
Most of the stores whose licenses will not be renewed are in low-income areas with high concentrations of Black and Latino residents
Emmett Brown after an experimental accident inspired the concept
I've made a big contribution to society," said Hon Lik, 57, in a cramped office in Beijing, sending tobacco-scented smoke into the air as he puffed on a battery-powered pipe."But I don't live like a rich person, because of all the troubles our company has faced."Hon, a soft-spoken man from northwestern China, is the co-founder of Ruyan, a company which has produced electronic cigarettes and cigars -- starting at 68 yuan ($11, eight euros) -- for more than a decade.His patents are set to be sold in a $75-million deal with Britain's Imperial Tobacco, but Hon says he will see little of the windfall, and that years of copyright disputes and negative publicity have eroded his profits.His battles highlight rising competition in a market that's skyrocketed to $2 billion in global sales, according to research firm Euromonitor International.E-cigarettes, as the devices are commonly known, heat a liquid nicotine solution to turn it into vapour.Manufacturers say a lack of tar and other ingredients, as well as an absence of smoke, makes the devices safer than conventional cigarettes
