 You may have noticed the glowing tips of electronic cigarettes proliferating in bars and restaurants in your city, or maybe you're an e-smoker yourself. The e-cig industry is booming, with sales more than doubling in 2013, and the acceleration is with more than just adoption. That transition is visible here at CES. In previous years, the e-cig vendors at CES tended to be Chinese manufacturers peddling unremarkable, unbranded disposable cylinders, basically a battery tied to a heater. But this year, R.J. Reynolds, one of the four largest tobacco companies in America, has an enormous booth built up around their flagship reusable e-cig. What we're seeing is that the adult smokers' preferences in the type of alternative products they're looking for has changed dramatically over the last decade. We're seeing this e-cigarette category grow exponentially. It's already a $1.8 billion industry. I think cigarettes will always be in existence, but I do see and believe that e-cigarettes will over time start replacing the cigarette industry. E-cig companies are also starting to think of themselves as technology companies, outfitting their devices with Bluetooth, microprocessors, fingerprint scanners, and soon gyroscopes. When we thought about how does the product look and how we should design it, the thought was it shouldn't look like a product made over 100 years ago. It should look like a product that reflects the unique componentry inside. These companies also have a special swagger this year, as if they know that their industry is on the rise. But while it's true that we're at the beginning of the next generation of e-cigs, the trend is still nascent. The Food and Drug Administration has yet to put out official regulations for e-cigs, and the research on health impacts is still being done. This uncertainty hasn't stopped companies from innovating, and it definitely hasn't stopped people from vaping. We're seeing e-cigs in the hallways, on the show floor, and even the bathroom line, even though technically vaping isn't allowed inside the convention center. At least not this year.
 You may have noticed the glowing tips of electronic cigarettes proliferating in bars and restaurants
 in your city, or maybe you're an e-smoker yourself.
 The e-cig industry is booming, with sales more than doubling in 2013, and the acceleration
 is with more than just adoption.
 That transition is visible here at CES.
 In previous years, the e-cig vendors at CES tended to be Chinese manufacturers peddling
 unremarkable, unbranded disposable cylinders, basically a battery tied to a heater.
 But this year, R.J. Reynolds, one of the four largest tobacco companies in America, has
 an enormous booth built up around their flagship reusable e-cig.
 What we're seeing is that the adult smokers' preferences in the type of alternative products
 they're looking for has changed dramatically over the last decade.
 We're seeing this e-cigarette category grow exponentially.
 It's already a $1.8 billion industry.
 I think cigarettes will always be in existence, but I do see and believe that e-cigarettes
 will over time start replacing the cigarette industry.
 E-cig companies are also starting to think of themselves as technology companies, outfitting
 their devices with Bluetooth, microprocessors, fingerprint scanners, and soon gyroscopes.
 When we thought about how does the product look and how we should design it, the thought
 was it shouldn't look like a product made over 100 years ago.
 It should look like a product that reflects the unique componentry inside.
 These companies also have a special swagger this year, as if they know that their industry
 is on the rise.
 But while it's true that we're at the beginning of the next generation of e-cigs, the trend
 is still nascent.
 The Food and Drug Administration has yet to put out official regulations for e-cigs, and
 the research on health impacts is still being done.
 This uncertainty hasn't stopped companies from innovating, and it definitely hasn't
 stopped people from vaping.
 We're seeing e-cigs in the hallways, on the show floor, and even the bathroom line, even
 though technically vaping isn't allowed inside the convention center.
 At least not this year.