LONDON--E-cigarette maker Njoy is searching for PR support in the UK ahead of a major marketing push aimed at boosting sales in a growing market. 

The US-based company is understood to have contacted a handful of global PR networks in London regarding its business PR needs. 

Founded in 2006, Njoy leads the US e-cigarette market, which is expected to triple this year to more than $2bn. Earlier this year, the company raised more than $75m in financing from an investor group that included Napster founder Sean Parker.

Currently, e-cigarettes are subjected to minimal regulatory oversight, although the EU is in the process of bringing in specific new legislation.

Njoy currently retains College Hill for public affairs and corporate support in Brussels and the UK. It is thought that the new search will not affect this existing relationship.

The company is aiming to boost its presence in the UK, where it estimates the e-cigarette market at upwards of £100m. After launching a presence in the country last year, Njoy is hoping to confirm a listing with one of the big four UK supermarkets, and is set to launch a major marketing campaign in the country.

Despite Njoy's stated mission of making cigarettes obsolete, and the absence of tobacco from its products, many networks contacted by the Holmes Report indicated they would be unable to handle the assignment. The PR industry remains wary of the controversy associated with conventional cigarettes, and few firms handle such accounts anymore.

E-cigarettes deliver almost the same amount of nicotine as a conventional cigarette, but they claim to eliminate the smell and health risks associated with tobacco smoke.