Collection: Long Life

In their attempt to be seen as a safe, healthy product, many e-cigarette (e-cig) companies advertise an association between their brand and a long, presumably healthy life. e-cig companies use a number of methods to drive home this connection, from slogans in ads to the name of the company itself.

A number of brand names are synonymous with a longer life. Examples range from the brand “Forever” to the more direct “Smoke To Live (TM)”. The name “Vapor4Life” has a number of connotations, from using an e-cig all your life, to vaping in order to live.

Many ads feature slogans and images with life-related or life-prolonging connotations. ePuffer runs the tagline “Extending Smoker’s Life!” An image from electronic cigarette reviews shows a traditional combustible cigarette with the slogan “Stop…you Burn your life flower”; the smoke from the cigarette is arranged in the shape of a flower with a red, burning, center. Contrasted to this on the other side of the ad is a seemingly healthy, happy woman vaping; the vapor forms no pattern.

The company e-ciglife emphasizes the associates between e-cigs and life; their logo is a tree, green and abundant with fruit; and their slogan reads “e-ciglife: Get more out of it!”, suggesting vaping can help you get more out of life.

The South Beach e-cig company uses dark humor to emphasize the destructive quality of cigarettes. The company pinned a comic to their Pinterest page from bizarrocomics.com that shows a glamorous woman in a black dress lighting a cigarette. She is sitting at a table strewn with alcohol, guns, a knife and other harmful objects. Opposite her is the figure of Death, clad in a black robe, saying, “Are you flirting with me?”

The tactic of implying long life harks back to the tobacco advertising strategies of old where claims were often made about the health benefits of smoking cigarettes. Very little research has been done about the long-term health consequences of vaping, making such claims unfounded and potentially dangerous.