????蒙西斯所言極是：目前煙草業(yè)正是躺著掙錢(qián)的時(shí)候。全球煙草市場(chǎng)的年產(chǎn)值約為8000億美元，而電子煙去年的銷售額也已達(dá)到20億美元上下。過(guò)去三年，電子煙行業(yè)的年復(fù)合增長(zhǎng)率高達(dá)30%。一些煙草行業(yè)分析師預(yù)計(jì)，到2015年，電子煙的全球銷售額有望突破30億美元。彭博社（Bloomberg）的行業(yè)專家更是預(yù)測(cè)，到2047年，電子煙銷售額或?qū)⒊^(guò)傳統(tǒng)煙草。

????但目前電子煙市場(chǎng)的主流產(chǎn)品仍然屬于低端范疇——絕大部分不過(guò)是傳統(tǒng)香煙的改頭換面，只是將尼古丁添加到丙二醇里，再通過(guò)霧化器變成霧氣被消費(fèi)者吸食，好處是既有香煙的感覺(jué)又沒(méi)有煙霧。Ploom不一樣，它將自己定位為高端奢侈品牌。Ploom的電子煙仍然使用傳統(tǒng)煙葉，Pax可以使用散裝煙葉，modelTwo使用的是預(yù)先包裝好的煙葉“莢”——沒(méi)錯(cuò)，與按杯兜售咖啡的方法類似。用戶可以從零售商和Ploom官方網(wǎng)站買(mǎi)到這些煙葉莢。精良的設(shè)計(jì)和質(zhì)感使Ploom電子煙盡顯高端大氣。

????健康倡導(dǎo)團(tuán)體和禁煙組織一直在抨擊煙草行業(yè)，盡管就連大麻如今也已經(jīng)開(kāi)始擺脫低三下四的地位，有望獲得合法的名分。蒙西斯表示，一旦美國(guó)、歐洲、南美和世界其他地區(qū)的法律法規(guī)形勢(shì)發(fā)生變化，Ploom公司隨時(shí)準(zhǔn)備進(jìn)入其它領(lǐng)域。雖然大麻作為單列商品的數(shù)據(jù)很難獲得，但位于舊金山的天使投資網(wǎng)絡(luò)公司ArcView Group預(yù)測(cè)，美國(guó)合法大麻的銷售額今年有望達(dá)到23.4億美元。按照美國(guó)各州和聯(lián)邦政府的大麻合法化進(jìn)展，五年后美國(guó)大麻市場(chǎng)或?qū)⒏哌_(dá)102億美元。

????蒙西斯、鮑文以及成長(zhǎng)中的Ploom公司（它目前的員工數(shù)已超過(guò)35名）眼下的重點(diǎn)不在于被蒸發(fā)的物質(zhì)是什么，而在于創(chuàng)造消費(fèi)者想要的體驗(yàn)。蒙西斯說(shuō)，煙草行業(yè)長(zhǎng)期以來(lái)一直忽略自己的客戶，向客戶提供不同包裝的同一種產(chǎn)品。憑借硅谷高科技創(chuàng)業(yè)者以批評(píng)的眼光審視吸煙，Ploom希望在一個(gè)多世紀(jì)以來(lái)沒(méi)有發(fā)生過(guò)明顯改變的煙草市場(chǎng)能夠不斷創(chuàng)新。

????蒙西斯說(shuō)：“我們是一家以消費(fèi)者為中心的公司，我們總是對(duì)顧客感興趣的東西有興趣。我們會(huì)回避老產(chǎn)品，任由老產(chǎn)品消亡并繼續(xù)前進(jìn)。我們不是傳統(tǒng)的煙草公司，我們無(wú)意創(chuàng)造持續(xù)數(shù)十年而一成不變的單一產(chǎn)品。我們是一家煙草公司，但我們更是一家創(chuàng)新企業(yè)?！?財(cái)富中文網(wǎng))

????譯者：項(xiàng)航

????That's perfectly fine: Right now tobacco is a good place to be. While the broader tobacco business is worth roughly $80 billion, e-cigarettes carved out about $2 billion in global sales last year. The segment has been growing by about 30% annually for the last three years. A Citigroup analysis predicts $3 billion in global sales by 2015, and Bloomberg Industries believes e-cigarette sales will surpass traditional tobacco sales by 2047.

????Most of those sales come in the form of relatively inexpensive e-cigarette products -- most of which somewhat resemble traditional cigarettes -- that turn a nicotine-infused propylene glycol into an inhalable vapor that gives users that cigarette fix without the smoke. Ploom differentiates by positioning itself as something of a luxury brand within the space. Its products still use actual tobacco -- Pax takes loose-leaf tobacco, while modelTwo uses pre-packaged tobacco-filled "pods" -- yes, the Keurig coffee model, applied to tobacco -- that can be purchased retail or from Ploom's website. For both, a polished design and feel make them feel decidedly high-end.

????But health advocacy and anti-tobacco campaigns continue to attach greater social taboo to tobacco, even as marijuana has begun to shed the stigma and legal baggage attached to it. Monsees says the company is poised to branch off in other directions as the legal landscape shifts in the U.S., Europe, South America, and elsewhere. Though data focused solely on the marijuana accessories market are hard to come by, the San Francisco-based angel investor network ArcView Group forecasts that the legal cannabis market in the U.S. will hit $2.34 billion this year, and perhaps $10.2 billion in five years, depending on which state markets open up and how federal authorities respond.

????For Monsees, Bowen, and their growing company -- it now staffs more than 35 employees -- it's less about what's being vaporized and more about creating an experience that consumers want. Big Tobacco has long ignored its own customers, Monsees says, offering them a single option in a lot of different packages. By approaching smoking with the critical eye of a Silicon Valley tech entrepreneur, Ploom wants to bring continuous innovation to a market segment that hasn't changed appreciably in more than a century.

????"We are a very consumer-centric company, and we're always interested in what our constituents are interested in," Monsees says. "We will shun old products, we will let them die and move on. We're not the traditional tobacco company, and we're not interested in creating a singular product that will last for decades and decades and never change. We're a tobacco company, but we're an innovation company."