{"id":2239,"date":"2014-05-18T19:25:46","date_gmt":"2014-05-18T19:25:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=2239"},"modified":"2014-06-26T05:09:14","modified_gmt":"2014-06-26T05:09:14","slug":"big-tobacco-getting-into-the-e-cigarette-business-a-good-thing-or-a-bad-thing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=2239","title":{"rendered":"Big Tobacco getting into the e-cigarette business — a good thing or a bad thing?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo<\/a>
Photo Credit: Goodluz \/ Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Here is a story from Alternet<\/a> about how Big Tobacco companies are buying into the e-cigarette business. This began a couple of years ago when Lorillard\u00a0(Newport Cigarettes) bought Blu E-Cigs, the biggest e-cig company out there. RJR owns an e-cig brand\u00a0called Vuse.<\/p>\n

The article correctly points out that there are no rules or regulations controlling marketing of e-cigs to minors, which is a major concern to me and other anti-tobacco advocates. E-cig companies have been pretty aggressive in using the exact same techniques to market their products as the tobacco companies used to market cigarettes 30 and 40 years ago.<\/p>\n

This is a fairly scathing article from Alternet, and based on my research into e-cigs, I see some of the points they are making (I totally agree with the article’s points about the dangers of no control over e-cig marketing), but don’t entirely agree with all of them, suggesting that e-cigs are nearly or virtually as bad as cigarettes. A number of commenters (and e-cig proponents) are taking Alternet to task for the article.<\/p>\n

Let me make it clear — again — I am not an e-cig proponent. BUT, I have read and heard enough anecdotal evidence to accept that they may help SOME people quit smoking. And while e-cigs are not entirely harmless, nor are they anywhere nearly as toxic as cigarettes. \u00a0Do, I think they should be regulated? Absolutely. The FDA is doing this and importantly, is banning sales to minors. Do I think their marketing should be regulated? Absolutely. The FDA is NOT doing this, but should. Do I think they need to be banned? No, I’m not on board with that yet.<\/p>\n

The article decries that Big Tobacco is getting into the e-cig business. I don’t see this as either a bad thing or a good thing. I see it as an inevitable thing.<\/p>\n

Big Tobacco has lost billions in sales in the U.S. and the rest of the West in the past 25 years as smoking rates have plummeted, and lately smoking rates among young people, which had stubbornly refused to drop, finally starting dropping dramatically about four or five years ago.<\/p>\n

Big Tobacco is a lot of things, evil, venal, amoral, etc., but it isn’t stupid. The execs see the future, and the future is, cigarette sales in the West will never remotely approach where they were 30 years ago, and will continue to decline. So, what are they doing? Diversifying. Into e-cigs. It’s capitalism, love it or hate it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here is a story from Alternet about how Big Tobacco companies are buying into the e-cigarette business. This began a couple of years ago when Lorillard\u00a0(Newport Cigarettes) bought Blu E-Cigs, the biggest e-cig company out there. RJR owns an e-cig brand\u00a0called Vuse. The article correctly points out that there are no rules or regulations controlling … Continue reading Big Tobacco getting into the e-cigarette business — a good thing or a bad thing?<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2240,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[10,95,240,241,21,22,25],"tags":[591,592],"class_list":["post-2239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-big-tobacco","category-blu","category-e-cig-advertising","category-e-cigarette-advertising","category-e-cigarettes","category-e-cigs","category-fda","tag-e-cigarettes","tag-e-cigs"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/shutterstock_141887191.jpg?fit=310%2C233&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4hpEa-A7","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2020,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=2020","url_meta":{"origin":2239,"position":0},"title":"Sen. Chuck Shumer calls for ban on e-cigarette advertising to minors","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"March 14, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"This is interesting ... and becoming a bigger and bigger thorn with e-cigs -- e-cigarette advertising. (thanks to Haruko for this link) Sen. Chuck Shumer, D-N.Y., has called on the Federal Trade Commission to ban e-cig advertising to minors. Currently, unlike cigarettes, there are NO advertising guidelines in place for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "cigarette advertising"","block_context":{"text":"cigarette advertising","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=17"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/60290267_santasmoke.jpg?fit=650%2C306&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/60290267_santasmoke.jpg?fit=650%2C306&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/60290267_santasmoke.jpg?fit=650%2C306&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2191,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=2191","url_meta":{"origin":2239,"position":1},"title":"Great article comparing today’s e-cig ads to vintage cigarette ads","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"May 2, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"This is a point I've been making for weeks now. E-cig companies are making their ads almost identical to cigarette ads from 40 and 50 years ago, using sex and sophistication to sell their products. Business Insider came up with a feature showing the amazing similarity between today's e-cig ads\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "E-cig advertising"","block_context":{"text":"E-cig advertising","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=240"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/1933-v-2012-e-cigarette-ads-can-target-the-free-flowing-disposable-income-of-the-crucial-nightlife-crowd.jpg?fit=720%2C488&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/1933-v-2012-e-cigarette-ads-can-target-the-free-flowing-disposable-income-of-the-crucial-nightlife-crowd.jpg?fit=720%2C488&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/1933-v-2012-e-cigarette-ads-can-target-the-free-flowing-disposable-income-of-the-crucial-nightlife-crowd.jpg?fit=720%2C488&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/1933-v-2012-e-cigarette-ads-can-target-the-free-flowing-disposable-income-of-the-crucial-nightlife-crowd.jpg?fit=720%2C488&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2647,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=2647","url_meta":{"origin":2239,"position":2},"title":"Edgy, racy, sexy ad for e-cigs … Blu E-cigs will make you as cool as a racecar driver … or Joe Camel","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"November 15, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"OK, I am literally sending an email to the FDA about this new Blu E-cigarette ad. Man, this ad annoyed me the first time I saw it about a week ago, and it's still bugging me. It's with our longtime Blu spokesman -- washed-up actor Stephen Dorff, advertising a new\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blu"","block_context":{"text":"Blu","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=95"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/joe-camel-stephen-dorff-race-car-driver.jpg?fit=453%2C251&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1973,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=1973","url_meta":{"origin":2239,"position":3},"title":"A really kind of despicable ad from Blu e-cigs","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"February 27, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"From the category of \"Are you kidding me???\" Blu e-cigs (owned by Lorillard tobacco) is pulling out all the stops lately using the same ad techniques cigarette companies used. I try to stay on the fence on e-cigs, because they might help some people quit smoking, but when I see\u00a0ads\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blu"","block_context":{"text":"Blu","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=95"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Ecig_R3_M1.jpg?fit=550%2C300&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Ecig_R3_M1.jpg?fit=550%2C300&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Ecig_R3_M1.jpg?fit=550%2C300&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2744,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=2744","url_meta":{"origin":2239,"position":4},"title":"USA Today editorial: If the FDA won’t crack down on the marketing of e-cigs, perhaps states should","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"December 18, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"USA Today published an interesting editorial this week on how to stop the explosion of e-cig use by teenagers. 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A couple of months ago, the FDA issued its\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "E-cig advertising"","block_context":{"text":"E-cig advertising","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=240"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/ecigarette-france.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/ecigarette-france.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/ecigarette-france.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/ecigarette-france.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/ecigarette-france.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2239"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2239\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2337,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2239\/revisions\/2337"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}