British American Tobacco (BAT) relinquished control of any future commercialisation of the Voke nicotine inhaler to its designer Kind Consumer, the cigarette maker said.

BAT will support Kind Consumer through its manufacturing assets and know-how in return for deferred, contingent payments, the company said. “We will be prioritising and focussing on the vapour and tobacco heating consumer segments within our Next Generation Product (NGP) portfolio, said Kingsley Wheaton, BAT managing director of NGPs. The portfolio includes the Vype brand vaping stick and the glo heat-not-burn product. “We do recognise the focus and single-mindedness Kind can bring will be an asset to the speedy commercialisation of Voke,” Wheaton said.
In 2014 the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) certified the nicotine inhaler as a medical device and hybrid medicine, however the product licensed by Kind Consumer to BAT was never launched.
MHRA last year issued a medical license for e-Voke, an e-cigarette using pharmaceutical nicotine that BAT also has been planning to launch. A BAT spokeswoman noted the two products are separate. "We are reviewing the commercialisation and consumer resonance of the e-Voke offer," she said.