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Stanford Research into the Impact of Tobacco Advertising

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Discounts – img19376

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Pricing strategy is an important element of any product marketing campaign. Given that a big advantage that the e-Cigarette (e-cig) industry has over combustible cigarettes is its lower price point, it is not surprising to see price being a central element in many advertisements. One of the reasons that e-cigs can be priced lower than traditional cigarettes is that unlike conventional cigarettes, e-cigs do not contain any tobacco and therefore are not subject to the hefty cigarette tax but only to local sales tax.

As with all consumer products, discounts are widely used by the industry to drive short-term sales, remain competitive, and urge price-minded consumers to use the product. Price discounts offered by e-cig brands include percentage discounts, multi-pack offers, and “buy one get one free” deals. Since e-cigs are primarily sold online promotional discounts, especially through social media channels during the holidays, are extensively being used to grab a larger market share. As the e-cig market continues to grow and begins to utilize more retail outlets and convenience store chains to sell its products, it is expected that more e-cig companies like tobacco companies will offer retail owners incentives for ordering their products, placing advertisements in specific locations, and providing prime shelf space for their product. This in turn will drive more consumers to their products.

Price is a powerful tool that promote product use. For teenagers who are very price sensitive, the lower price of disposable e-cigs may make for an easy introduction to a product that is often described as a “gateway” to addiction. 1

1. Grana, Rachel A. “Electronic cigarettes: a new nicotine gateway?.” Journal of Adolescent Health 52.2 (2013): 135-136.

Discounts – img19378

by

Pricing strategy is an important element of any product marketing campaign. Given that a big advantage that the e-Cigarette (e-cig) industry has over combustible cigarettes is its lower price point, it is not surprising to see price being a central element in many advertisements. One of the reasons that e-cigs can be priced lower than traditional cigarettes is that unlike conventional cigarettes, e-cigs do not contain any tobacco and therefore are not subject to the hefty cigarette tax but only to local sales tax.

As with all consumer products, discounts are widely used by the industry to drive short-term sales, remain competitive, and urge price-minded consumers to use the product. Price discounts offered by e-cig brands include percentage discounts, multi-pack offers, and “buy one get one free” deals. Since e-cigs are primarily sold online promotional discounts, especially through social media channels during the holidays, are extensively being used to grab a larger market share. As the e-cig market continues to grow and begins to utilize more retail outlets and convenience store chains to sell its products, it is expected that more e-cig companies like tobacco companies will offer retail owners incentives for ordering their products, placing advertisements in specific locations, and providing prime shelf space for their product. This in turn will drive more consumers to their products.

Price is a powerful tool that promote product use. For teenagers who are very price sensitive, the lower price of disposable e-cigs may make for an easy introduction to a product that is often described as a “gateway” to addiction. 1

1. Grana, Rachel A. “Electronic cigarettes: a new nicotine gateway?.” Journal of Adolescent Health 52.2 (2013): 135-136.

Discounts – img19379

by

Pricing strategy is an important element of any product marketing campaign. Given that a big advantage that the e-Cigarette (e-cig) industry has over combustible cigarettes is its lower price point, it is not surprising to see price being a central element in many advertisements. One of the reasons that e-cigs can be priced lower than traditional cigarettes is that unlike conventional cigarettes, e-cigs do not contain any tobacco and therefore are not subject to the hefty cigarette tax but only to local sales tax.

As with all consumer products, discounts are widely used by the industry to drive short-term sales, remain competitive, and urge price-minded consumers to use the product. Price discounts offered by e-cig brands include percentage discounts, multi-pack offers, and “buy one get one free” deals. Since e-cigs are primarily sold online promotional discounts, especially through social media channels during the holidays, are extensively being used to grab a larger market share. As the e-cig market continues to grow and begins to utilize more retail outlets and convenience store chains to sell its products, it is expected that more e-cig companies like tobacco companies will offer retail owners incentives for ordering their products, placing advertisements in specific locations, and providing prime shelf space for their product. This in turn will drive more consumers to their products.

Price is a powerful tool that promote product use. For teenagers who are very price sensitive, the lower price of disposable e-cigs may make for an easy introduction to a product that is often described as a “gateway” to addiction. 1

1. Grana, Rachel A. “Electronic cigarettes: a new nicotine gateway?.” Journal of Adolescent Health 52.2 (2013): 135-136.

Flavor Varieties – img18640

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A patently obvious device used by e-cigarette (e-cig) companies to attract teens is the promotion of youth-oriented flavors. In its flavored product lines, e-cig manufacturers have far exceeded the flavorings used by the combustible tobacco industry. Almost every flavor addictive available in the market is available as a vapor juice. With many e-cig manufacturers allowing consumers to pick and mix their own flavorings, the possibilities are endless.

e-cigs and vapor juices are available in a number including candy flavors such as gummi bears and bubble gum; baked good flavors such as peach cobbler and apple pie, alcoholic flavors such as beer and peach schnapps, variety of fruit and berry flavors and mint.

Flavored cigarettes and flavored tobacco have long been held to be gateway products for children and teens. There is now a growing concern that the use of flavored e-cigs by youth could lead to them experimenting with regular cigarettes. In a recent study, researchers at UCSF who analyzed data from the 2011 and 2012 National Youth Tobacco Survey found that adolescents who used e-cigs were more likely to smoke cigarettes and less likely to quit smoking1. In another study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found rates of e-cig use among U.S. youth more than doubled from 2011 to 2012, with 10 percent of high school students admitting to having used e-cigs. Almost 76% of youth who had tried an e-cig had also tried a regular cigarette. Altogether, in 2012 more than 1.78 million middle and high school students nationwide had tried e-cigs2.

With the Federal Drug Administration opting not to ban flavors in e-cigs, advocates fear that flavored e-cigs will serve to entice a new generation of kids to become addicted to nicotine based products.

1. UCSF: E-Cigarettes: Gateway to Nicotine Addiction for U.S. Teens, Says UCSF Study. Available at https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2014/03/112316/e-cigarettes-gateway-nicotine-addiction-us-teens-says-ucsf-study

2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2013). E-cigarette use more than doubles among U.S. middle and high school students from 2011-2012. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2013/p0905-e-cigarette-use.html

Feminine Glamour – img18703

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There are an enormous variety of female images in electronic cigarette (e-cig) advertising, ranging from pictures of a frumpily dressed older woman, to macho women on powerful machines, to thoroughly sexualized and eroticized depictions. These ads target women who envy the advertised image and aspire to be that person and they also target men who want to be with the women in the advertisements.

As often seen with the female form in ads, the images of women in many of the e-cig ads are of highly idealized body forms. These women are tall and thin with flawless skin and a perfect body that most women envy. In an ad for NutriCigs slim, a skinny woman showcasing her perfectly flat belly rests on the beach. The text of the ad reads, “Eat Less and Satisfy your Cravings.”

In some of these ads the female form is broken down to focus on a specific “perfect” body part. In ads for e-cigs the most common body part focused on are the lips. In many of these ads the lips are clearly defined with brightly colored lipstick that serves to bring into sharper focus the vapor that surrounds the lips. An ad for Hookah Portable focuses on a glittery jewel crusted lip of a woman who is seen vaping. To show the woman as one belonging to elite society, she is seen wearing a white glove. The image in a Vype Vapor ad is of dark red lips and a small stream of vapor. The woman in the ad transmits sensuality and desire. The message is very clear: if you want to be sensuous like that woman, all you have to do is buy the e-cig. It is not only ads but also packaging that focus on a woman’s lips as her most desirable attribute. One of the packs for Alchemy e-cigs has the image of red lips blowing out vapor.

There are also frequent images of female body parts such as the hands, legs or awkwardly attached body parts. An ad for Sky cigarette focuses primarily on the hands of a woman holding the e-cig, her face has been cut-off the ad. The ad seems to imply that what truly matters about the woman is the e-cig in her hand. In a Fin ad, a woman stands on a beach near an old two-seater glider. One of her hands is holding an e-cig while her other arm seems oddly disconnected from the body.

Of course, there are several sexualized and erotic images of women. An ad for PhatomSmoke has a woman suggestively sitting in the bathtub with the e-hookah between her teeth. Her lingerie is carelessly tossed on the rim of the bathtub. An ad for Krave e-cigs has a woman dressed in a bodysuit sitting on a side of a sofa her legs slightly apart as she gazes towards the viewer.

To appeal to women, many of the e-cigs are produced in pastel colors. For instance, Njoy, Vapor Couture, Bloog, V2Cigs, Lady and Super Cigarette are all available in shades of pink. Vapor Couture offers jewel tipped e-cigs especially made for women. To gain the trust and respect of consumers who have increasingly grown to view the tobacco industry as deceptive and lethal, the e-cig industry has supported charitable institutions and issues that are of importance to women. For instance, SouthBeach Smoke as well as Eversmoke donated funds for breast cancer awareness. However, corporate social responsibility sponsorships from e-cig manufacturers to improve public perception ring hollow especially as they e-cig manufacturers use manipulative techniques and misleading claims to lure consumers.

Feminine Glamour – img18706

by

There are an enormous variety of female images in electronic cigarette (e-cig) advertising, ranging from pictures of a frumpily dressed older woman, to macho women on powerful machines, to thoroughly sexualized and eroticized depictions. These ads target women who envy the advertised image and aspire to be that person and they also target men who want to be with the women in the advertisements.

As often seen with the female form in ads, the images of women in many of the e-cig ads are of highly idealized body forms. These women are tall and thin with flawless skin and a perfect body that most women envy. In an ad for NutriCigs slim, a skinny woman showcasing her perfectly flat belly rests on the beach. The text of the ad reads, “Eat Less and Satisfy your Cravings.”

In some of these ads the female form is broken down to focus on a specific “perfect” body part. In ads for e-cigs the most common body part focused on are the lips. In many of these ads the lips are clearly defined with brightly colored lipstick that serves to bring into sharper focus the vapor that surrounds the lips. An ad for Hookah Portable focuses on a glittery jewel crusted lip of a woman who is seen vaping. To show the woman as one belonging to elite society, she is seen wearing a white glove. The image in a Vype Vapor ad is of dark red lips and a small stream of vapor. The woman in the ad transmits sensuality and desire. The message is very clear: if you want to be sensuous like that woman, all you have to do is buy the e-cig. It is not only ads but also packaging that focus on a woman’s lips as her most desirable attribute. One of the packs for Alchemy e-cigs has the image of red lips blowing out vapor.

There are also frequent images of female body parts such as the hands, legs or awkwardly attached body parts. An ad for Sky cigarette focuses primarily on the hands of a woman holding the e-cig, her face has been cut-off the ad. The ad seems to imply that what truly matters about the woman is the e-cig in her hand. In a Fin ad, a woman stands on a beach near an old two-seater glider. One of her hands is holding an e-cig while her other arm seems oddly disconnected from the body.

Of course, there are several sexualized and erotic images of women. An ad for PhatomSmoke has a woman suggestively sitting in the bathtub with the e-hookah between her teeth. Her lingerie is carelessly tossed on the rim of the bathtub. An ad for Krave e-cigs has a woman dressed in a bodysuit sitting on a side of a sofa her legs slightly apart as she gazes towards the viewer.

To appeal to women, many of the e-cigs are produced in pastel colors. For instance, Njoy, Vapor Couture, Bloog, V2Cigs, Lady and Super Cigarette are all available in shades of pink. Vapor Couture offers jewel tipped e-cigs especially made for women. To gain the trust and respect of consumers who have increasingly grown to view the tobacco industry as deceptive and lethal, the e-cig industry has supported charitable institutions and issues that are of importance to women. For instance, SouthBeach Smoke as well as Eversmoke donated funds for breast cancer awareness. However, corporate social responsibility sponsorships from e-cig manufacturers to improve public perception ring hollow especially as they e-cig manufacturers use manipulative techniques and misleading claims to lure consumers.