Relx International, a multinational vape company that markets one of Asia’s best-selling electronic cigarette brands, announced a new agreement with an entity in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to advance the sales and distribution of vape products in the country.

“This is a critically important partnership for RELX International, and we are delighted to be working with SAF Trading Agency who will be leveraging their extensive KSA distribution network to make the brand widely available across the country to our adult consumers,” said Fouad Baraka, general manager who oversees Relx’s regional markets in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Algeria.

“Our goal is to drive awareness and sales, as well as our company message to our target audience, adult smokers who would otherwise continue to smoke, across the region,” he added, via a press release sent to Vaping Post and other vaping industry news outlets.

Baraka added that Relx’s focus on the Middle East and North Africa region is aligned with the global vaping industry’s push into emerging and developing markets.

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is one of the largest and most prosperous markets in the region, therefore we are pleased to be partnering with SAF Trading Agency, who will certainly allow us to grow in the region,” Baraka added, via the same press release.

Vaping in Saudi Arabia and other such countries isn’t necessarily illegal according to national law. However, there is recorded data that indicates that accessing these kinds of alternatives to hookahs or cigarettes (both common in the MENA region) proves challenging.

The regulated use of electronic cigarettes or vaping devices is considered less harmful than smoking. Public health bodies such as Public Health England in the U.K., and even the CDC in the U.S., recognize the harm-reduction characteristics of electronic cigarettes and other kinds of vapes.

Saudi Arabia has a rampant tobacco use epidemic throughout the country, given that behaviors like smoking are characteristics of local culture.

However, the introduction of electronic cigarettes to countries predominantly ruled by legally binding moral codes may prove effective in reducing local smoking-related deaths.