A step forward

Imperial Brands is set to launch this month a new vaping device in the U.S. and the U.K. with the same nicotine formulation as Juul, reports Bloomberg citing Imperial’s Chief Executive Officer Alison Cooper.

The new vaping device can reportedly be used with existing Imperial’s MyBlu systems.

Cooper described the type of experience Juul delivered as “a step forward,’’ adding smokers were not switching to vaping completely earlier because the experience wasn’t satisfying enough.

Cooper also said that to cut production costs in next-generation products (NGPs), Imperial will reduce the number of components in its MyBlu vaping device and automate production.

She expects returns from NGPs to make a “significant step forward’’ in 2020.