Exclusive: Pay per puff? Caffeine stick? E-cigarette boom sparks race for new patents

(Reuters) - Electronic cigarette makers are racing to design and buy variations of a technology that has lit a billion-dollar boom, created a new vocabulary, and prompted a backlash from health officials worried about the impact of the new smokeless devices. Research by Thomson Reuters shows that China - with over 300 million smokers - is the front runner in the manufacture and development of so-called e-cigarette technology, while new versions being patented include a "pay as you go" computer-assisted device and others that can deliver caffeine instead.
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