This Hemp Company Is Fighting Nicotine

Vancouver-based TAAT Global Alternatives, a manufacturer of hemp-based cigarettes, is on a mission to help those addicted to nicotine find a safer alternative.

Hemp cigarettes at TAAT were created to look, smell, and taste like traditional tobacco cigarettes to help suppress shock or change in the bodies of those addicted to normal cigarettes. TAAT markets its product as a “unique nicotine-free alternative to cigarettes.”

In an interview with TAAT’s CEO and director, Setti Coscarella, he told Forbes that the company recently landed an investment of $8 million through Horizons Ventures. He said that Horizons Ventures wanted to partner with TAAT because they “like the space and they like the ability for us to help solve a problem. They typically look at things that are more of a social good. And they like the fact that for our product, it’s a non-addictive option for smokers.”

Unlike nicotine vapes, TAAT’s hemp cigarettes help reduce addiction to nicotine by imitating the experience of smoking a standard cigarette, but in a less harmful way.

“They believe, as do I, that there is an enormous market opportunity for a product like this. The want to participate early because that’s the nature of the business they do. In China alone, there are over 300 million smokers. That’s more smokers in one country than there are people in the United States,” said Coscarella.

Although Coscarella declined to categorize the other proprietary biomass TAAT uses in their hemp cigarettes for confidentiality purposes, he did say that TAAT has engineered their flavor to be “similar to if not better than tobacco.” Since the cigarettes are a hemp product, they also contain CBD, which studies have proven to help relax nicotine withdrawal symptoms.

“From a smoker’s perspective, they’ll feel satisfied using our product, both from a taste standpoint, from a form standpoint. And from an effect standpoint,” Coscarella said.

Although Coscarella is more than excited to share the latest $8 million investment and partnership with Horizons Ventures and his company’s goal to help curb nicotine withdrawal symptoms, he wanted to make one thing clear about TAAT’s “Beyond Tobacco” hemp cigarettes.

“Our product is not intended to get people to enter the category,” Coscarella said. “There’s almost a billion and a half smokers worldwide. We want to tackle the market of existing smokers. So if you don’t smoke, don’t start if you do smoke, you should probably quit. And if you don’t quit, then you can try TAAT.”