Winston maker surrenders

Imperial Brands became the first global tobacco company to lay out the financial impact of the US crackdown on vaping products, as the maker of Blu ecigarettes warned its sales and profit would be lower than expected this year.

The disclosure from Imperial, whose traditional cigarette brands include Davidoff and Winston, shows how the Trump administration’s plans, announced earlier this month, to ban most vaping products in the US are already affecting the tobacco industry’s fortunes.

Shares of Imperial fell 13 percent Thursday. The UKbased company’s approach to so-called next-generation nicotine products is far more focused on e-cigarettes than that of its major rivals.

Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the vapingrelated death toll has risen to 12 and that 805 confirmed and probable cases have been reported, up 52 percent from the 530 reported a week ago. At this point, illnesses have occurred in almost every state.

The US vaping market — worth $5.6 billion last year, according to data provider Euromonitor — is dominated by products from ecigarette startup Juul Labs. However, big tobacco companies have pushed into the category to offset the decline in traditional cigarette sales.

Imperial bought the Blu ecigarette brand in 2015 from Reynolds American.