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First dip ever in e-cig sales raises question: is this just a fad?

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PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images
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First dip ever in e-cig sales raises question: is this just a fad?

E-cigarette sales have declined for the first time in a five-year-period of steady growth. This news comes in the mists of Reynolds American Inc. agreeing to sell its popular Blu e-cig brand to rival tobacco company Imperial Tobacco Group. The sales of e-cigs rose 1.7% in 2013-- which equals out to $1.7 billion -- but saw a 2.9% decline in May 2014 compared to last year. What does this mean for the e-cigarette business? Does this number indicate the e-cig is just another fad? Or are we seeing a new type of nicotine user emerge?

Guest:

Matt Richtel, reporter for the New York Times has been writing about big tobacco and the e-cigarette market