UK-based company, developer of Voke nicotine inhaler
Kind Consumer Limited was a UK-based company that developed Voke, a nicotine inhaler intended to address tobacco harm reduction. The company was founded in 2006 by Alex Hearn, a British inventor and entrepreneur based in London.[1][2][3]
The company collapsed into administration in 2020, after raising £140m in funding from investors.[4]
Voke
Kind Consumer's inhaler, Voke Archived 2019-10-01 at the Wayback Machine, was designed to provide the combination of a rapid delivery of nicotine and the unique respiratory tract sensory cues of inhaled nicotine which together are of primary importance in relieving craving for nicotine. The idea took 13 years to develop and was the brainchild of Alex Hearn, an asthmatic Oxford graduate whose parents smoked and who went through more than 800 prototypes before settling on a design.[5]
The Voke Inhaler contains a micro-valve which is activated by the user inhaling, and unlike an e-cigarette, does not need electronics, batteries or heat to produce a hit of nicotine.[6] Since it uses inhaler technology to deliver the nicotine, the Voke administers a precise dose of the drug which does not contain the tar, tobacco or other substances found in regular cigarettes.[7]
In late 2010, Kind Consumer agreed an exclusive development and distribution agreement with Nicoventures Limited (later renamed Nicovations Limited) a wholly owned subsidiary of British American Tobacco plc. BAT's manufacturing, intellectual property, manufacturing, marketing and branding rights were assigned to Kind Consumer Archived 2019-02-09 at the Wayback Machine (Jan 2017) who took back ownership for the commercialisation of Voke. [citation needed]
In September 2014, Voke became the first simulated cigarette to be authorised by the UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) as a nicotine replacement therapy (NRT).[8] The device is seen as a competitor to both e-cigarettes and nicotine-replacement therapies, such as gum and patches.[6]
Voke was launched in the UK on Nov 5th 2019. It can be prescribed as an aid to smoking cessation or reduction, or can be purchased directly from Kind Consumer at a comparable cost to a pack of cigarettes.[9][10]
Funding
Kind Consumer attracted investment from an investment trust and a number of angel investors:[11]
