| Philip Morris USA parent Altria Group is poised to re-enter the vaping space as the tobacco industry looks to e-cigarettes for much-needed revenue growth, Nathan writes. - Marlboro seller Altria disclosed Friday that it had ended its noncompete agreement with Juul.
- The value of its investment in the vaping company previously imploded when federal regulators moved against Juul's products.
Why it matters: The cigarette industry, facing decades of declines in smoking rates, needs to identify a new route to growth — and e-cigarettes present opportunity even as they face increased oversight. Yes but: Like smoking, vaping is addictive, as e-cigarettes contain nicotine, the same addictive ingredient that's in cigarettes. And the Biden administration's FDA has been cracking down on the industry. - Juul was forced to remove its products from U.S. shelves this summer when the FDA ruled it failed to provide adequate data on its chemicals.
- This followed scrutiny from watchdogs related to the company's marketing of its products to kids.
The other side: Vaping proponents point to arguments that it is less harmful than smoking and can serve as an off-ramp for tobacco addicts. What they're saying: Altria is well-suited to make a major play in the vaping market. - "The larger companies have a lot of experience, they have the legal expertise and just a long history of dealing with regulators, so they're ... well-positioned" to succeed in e-cigarettes, CFRA Research analyst Garrett Nelson tells Axios.
What to watch for: Altria will want to move quickly since it's trailing tobacco competitors like Reynolds American and smaller vaping companies. The bottom line: Health issues aside, vaping poses the prospect of a financial windfall for Altria, which has few other plausible routes for growth. Go deeper. | 
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