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Stanford Research into the Impact of Tobacco Advertising

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eLiquid

Alcohol – img32543

by

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 of alcoholic flavors including beer, pina colada, mojito, margarita, brandy, whiskey, gin & tonic, amaretto, wine cigar, and sangria. By advertising alcoholic flavored e-cigs and vapor juices, e-cig manufacturers are appealing to teenager to break two adult taboos at once — alcohol and smoking — in a single activity.

Flavored cigarettes and flavored tobacco have long been held as a gateway product for children and teens. There is now 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 flavored additives, advocates fear that flavored e-cigs will serve to entice a new generation of kids to become addicted to nicotine based products. Some public health advocates are calling flavored e-cigs the “Trojan horse” of nicotine addiction.

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-ecigarette-use.html

Knock-Offs – img33754

by

Brands strive for brand loyalty as it often involves consumers being repeat purchasers of the brand’s products and in many cases, identifying with the interests of the brand. Most major retail companies have built brand loyalty over decades. Electronic cigarette (e-cig) manufacturers understanding the importance of brand loyalty in consumer purchasing habits are trying to reap the goodwill of these companies by designing knock-off products.

A large portion of these imitations are flavor knockoffs, or flavors with branding that strongly resembles or imitates an existing brand. Take “Starbuzz Tobacco”, a play on words of Starbucks Coffee, with a logo that shares the same concentric circles and color scheme. Starbucks is a popular brand amongst teenagers, especially teenaged girls, so this attempt to mimic the Starbucks brand is also an attempt to capture that image for the e-cig product as a hip product. Another example is Pink Spot Flavor’s Raging Bull flavors, which uses the same bull outline as the one in the Red Bull energy drink logo, and also adopts a very similar color scheme. The imitations continue beyond brand associations and encompass product associations – there are many instances of e-cig companies simply using the logo of a different brand in its own packaging. Many Juicy Fruit flavor iterations of various e-cig companies directly place the actual Juicy Fruit candy logo on their packaging, which, suffice to say, is massively appealing to children. There are also several variations of popular breakfast cereal flavored e-cigs including Lucky Charms.

The established brand name companies are beginning to take note. General Mills Inc., Girl Scouts of the USA, and Tootsie Roll Industries Inc. are among the brands that have started firing off cease-and-desist letters to makers of the flavored nicotine liquids used in e-cigs.1 With sales of e-cigs booming, e-cig companies can no longer fly under the radar after ripping off a large corporations trademark.

1. Candy, Snack Companies Want Names Off E-Cigs. Retrieved from http://blogs.findlaw.com/free_enterprise/2014/05/candy-snack-companies-want-names-off-e-cigs.html

Flavor Varieties – img24394

by

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

Candy – img30414

by

The e-Cigarette (e-cig) industry fervently claims to target only adult and primarily established smokers. As much as e-cig companies deny it, the plethora of vape juices in alcoholic or sweetened flavors and sugary names serve to make these products appealing to children and teenagers who are curious to experiment with tobacco products and are taken in by false notions of the “safe nature” of e-cigs.

Appealing to an almost universal love for candy and sweets, e-cigs and ejuice are available in a number of childhood favorite flavors including bubble gum, gummys, Bazzoka, Kool-Aid, sweet tarts, cotton candy, gum balls, Swedish fish and cheerios. The images used in the ads are heavily borrowed from the food industry. Some e-cig companies (Mister Vapor) and vapor stores (Good Clean Vaoes) also use fairytale and anime characters to entice kids and teenagers to buy their products.

The sweet flavored additives in the vape juice help mask the bitterness of tobacco and the nicotine serves to addict teens. In addition to standard flavors, customers at retail “boutique” vape stores can enjoy the novel experience of working with a vapologist to create unique flavors by mixing any number of essences at a variety of nicotine strengths for a personalized vape. Some retail vape bars also have a “tasting bar” much like restaurants where consumers can try a variety of flavors.

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. A recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 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-cigs1.

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. 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

eJuice Companies – img30511

by

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

Fruits – img31592

by

The e-Cigarette (e-cig) industry zealously claims to target only adults and established smokers. As much as e-cig companies deny it, the plethora of vape juices in alcoholic or sweetened flavors and sugary names serve to make these products appealing to children and teenagers who are curious to experiment with tobacco products and are taken in by false notions of the “safe nature” of e-cigs.

E-cigs and ejuice are available in a number of fruit flavors including banana, watermelon, pineapple, and grape. In addition to these flavors, many ejuices are available in exotic flavors such as passion fruit, mango and lychee as well as in a cocktail of fruit flavors. The fruit flavored additives in the vape juice help mask the bitterness of tobacco and the nicotine serves to addict teens. Advertisements for fruit flavored e-cigs and ejuices include bright backgrounds that seek to draw all the attention to the fruits. Images of fruits slicing through water much helps convey a sense of freshness and purity to the product. If not for the brand name or the image of ejuice bottle by the side of the fruit, it would be easy to mistake many of the ads under this theme for ads by the food industry.

Flavored cigarettes and flavored tobacco have long been held to be gateway product for children and teens. There is now growing concern that the use of flavored e-cigs by youth could lead to them experimenting with regular cigarettes. A recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 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-cigs1.

With the Federal Drug Administration proposing 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. Some public health advocates are calling flavored e-cigs and vape juices the “Trojan horse” of nicotine addiction.

1. 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

Alcohol – img32544

by

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 of alcoholic flavors including beer, pina colada, mojito, margarita, brandy, whiskey, gin & tonic, amaretto, wine cigar, and sangria. By advertising alcoholic flavored e-cigs and vapor juices, e-cig manufacturers are appealing to teenager to break two adult taboos at once — alcohol and smoking — in a single activity.

Flavored cigarettes and flavored tobacco have long been held as a gateway product for children and teens. There is now 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 flavored additives, advocates fear that flavored e-cigs will serve to entice a new generation of kids to become addicted to nicotine based products. Some public health advocates are calling flavored e-cigs the “Trojan horse” of nicotine addiction.

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-ecigarette-use.html

Knock-Offs – img33755

by

Brands strive for brand loyalty as it often involves consumers being repeat purchasers of the brand’s products and in many cases, identifying with the interests of the brand. Most major retail companies have built brand loyalty over decades. Electronic cigarette (e-cig) manufacturers understanding the importance of brand loyalty in consumer purchasing habits are trying to reap the goodwill of these companies by designing knock-off products.

A large portion of these imitations are flavor knockoffs, or flavors with branding that strongly resembles or imitates an existing brand. Take “Starbuzz Tobacco”, a play on words of Starbucks Coffee, with a logo that shares the same concentric circles and color scheme. Starbucks is a popular brand amongst teenagers, especially teenaged girls, so this attempt to mimic the Starbucks brand is also an attempt to capture that image for the e-cig product as a hip product. Another example is Pink Spot Flavor’s Raging Bull flavors, which uses the same bull outline as the one in the Red Bull energy drink logo, and also adopts a very similar color scheme. The imitations continue beyond brand associations and encompass product associations – there are many instances of e-cig companies simply using the logo of a different brand in its own packaging. Many Juicy Fruit flavor iterations of various e-cig companies directly place the actual Juicy Fruit candy logo on their packaging, which, suffice to say, is massively appealing to children. There are also several variations of popular breakfast cereal flavored e-cigs including Lucky Charms.

The established brand name companies are beginning to take note. General Mills Inc., Girl Scouts of the USA, and Tootsie Roll Industries Inc. are among the brands that have started firing off cease-and-desist letters to makers of the flavored nicotine liquids used in e-cigs.1 With sales of e-cigs booming, e-cig companies can no longer fly under the radar after ripping off a large corporations trademark.

1. Candy, Snack Companies Want Names Off E-Cigs. Retrieved from http://blogs.findlaw.com/free_enterprise/2014/05/candy-snack-companies-want-names-off-e-cigs.html

Flavor Varieties – img24395

by

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

Candy – img30415

by

The e-Cigarette (e-cig) industry fervently claims to target only adult and primarily established smokers. As much as e-cig companies deny it, the plethora of vape juices in alcoholic or sweetened flavors and sugary names serve to make these products appealing to children and teenagers who are curious to experiment with tobacco products and are taken in by false notions of the “safe nature” of e-cigs.

Appealing to an almost universal love for candy and sweets, e-cigs and ejuice are available in a number of childhood favorite flavors including bubble gum, gummys, Bazzoka, Kool-Aid, sweet tarts, cotton candy, gum balls, Swedish fish and cheerios. The images used in the ads are heavily borrowed from the food industry. Some e-cig companies (Mister Vapor) and vapor stores (Good Clean Vaoes) also use fairytale and anime characters to entice kids and teenagers to buy their products.

The sweet flavored additives in the vape juice help mask the bitterness of tobacco and the nicotine serves to addict teens. In addition to standard flavors, customers at retail “boutique” vape stores can enjoy the novel experience of working with a vapologist to create unique flavors by mixing any number of essences at a variety of nicotine strengths for a personalized vape. Some retail vape bars also have a “tasting bar” much like restaurants where consumers can try a variety of flavors.

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. A recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 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-cigs1.

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. 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

eJuice Companies – img30512

by

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

Fruits – img31593

by

The e-Cigarette (e-cig) industry zealously claims to target only adults and established smokers. As much as e-cig companies deny it, the plethora of vape juices in alcoholic or sweetened flavors and sugary names serve to make these products appealing to children and teenagers who are curious to experiment with tobacco products and are taken in by false notions of the “safe nature” of e-cigs.

E-cigs and ejuice are available in a number of fruit flavors including banana, watermelon, pineapple, and grape. In addition to these flavors, many ejuices are available in exotic flavors such as passion fruit, mango and lychee as well as in a cocktail of fruit flavors. The fruit flavored additives in the vape juice help mask the bitterness of tobacco and the nicotine serves to addict teens. Advertisements for fruit flavored e-cigs and ejuices include bright backgrounds that seek to draw all the attention to the fruits. Images of fruits slicing through water much helps convey a sense of freshness and purity to the product. If not for the brand name or the image of ejuice bottle by the side of the fruit, it would be easy to mistake many of the ads under this theme for ads by the food industry.

Flavored cigarettes and flavored tobacco have long been held to be gateway product for children and teens. There is now growing concern that the use of flavored e-cigs by youth could lead to them experimenting with regular cigarettes. A recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 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-cigs1.

With the Federal Drug Administration proposing 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. Some public health advocates are calling flavored e-cigs and vape juices the “Trojan horse” of nicotine addiction.

1. 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

Alcohol – img32545

by

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 of alcoholic flavors including beer, pina colada, mojito, margarita, brandy, whiskey, gin & tonic, amaretto, wine cigar, and sangria. By advertising alcoholic flavored e-cigs and vapor juices, e-cig manufacturers are appealing to teenager to break two adult taboos at once — alcohol and smoking — in a single activity.

Flavored cigarettes and flavored tobacco have long been held as a gateway product for children and teens. There is now 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 flavored additives, advocates fear that flavored e-cigs will serve to entice a new generation of kids to become addicted to nicotine based products. Some public health advocates are calling flavored e-cigs the “Trojan horse” of nicotine addiction.

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-ecigarette-use.html

Knock-Offs – img33756

by

Brands strive for brand loyalty as it often involves consumers being repeat purchasers of the brand’s products and in many cases, identifying with the interests of the brand. Most major retail companies have built brand loyalty over decades. Electronic cigarette (e-cig) manufacturers understanding the importance of brand loyalty in consumer purchasing habits are trying to reap the goodwill of these companies by designing knock-off products.

A large portion of these imitations are flavor knockoffs, or flavors with branding that strongly resembles or imitates an existing brand. Take “Starbuzz Tobacco”, a play on words of Starbucks Coffee, with a logo that shares the same concentric circles and color scheme. Starbucks is a popular brand amongst teenagers, especially teenaged girls, so this attempt to mimic the Starbucks brand is also an attempt to capture that image for the e-cig product as a hip product. Another example is Pink Spot Flavor’s Raging Bull flavors, which uses the same bull outline as the one in the Red Bull energy drink logo, and also adopts a very similar color scheme. The imitations continue beyond brand associations and encompass product associations – there are many instances of e-cig companies simply using the logo of a different brand in its own packaging. Many Juicy Fruit flavor iterations of various e-cig companies directly place the actual Juicy Fruit candy logo on their packaging, which, suffice to say, is massively appealing to children. There are also several variations of popular breakfast cereal flavored e-cigs including Lucky Charms.

The established brand name companies are beginning to take note. General Mills Inc., Girl Scouts of the USA, and Tootsie Roll Industries Inc. are among the brands that have started firing off cease-and-desist letters to makers of the flavored nicotine liquids used in e-cigs.1 With sales of e-cigs booming, e-cig companies can no longer fly under the radar after ripping off a large corporations trademark.

1. Candy, Snack Companies Want Names Off E-Cigs. Retrieved from http://blogs.findlaw.com/free_enterprise/2014/05/candy-snack-companies-want-names-off-e-cigs.html

Flavor Varieties – img24396

by

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

Candy – img30416

by

The e-Cigarette (e-cig) industry fervently claims to target only adult and primarily established smokers. As much as e-cig companies deny it, the plethora of vape juices in alcoholic or sweetened flavors and sugary names serve to make these products appealing to children and teenagers who are curious to experiment with tobacco products and are taken in by false notions of the “safe nature” of e-cigs.

Appealing to an almost universal love for candy and sweets, e-cigs and ejuice are available in a number of childhood favorite flavors including bubble gum, gummys, Bazzoka, Kool-Aid, sweet tarts, cotton candy, gum balls, Swedish fish and cheerios. The images used in the ads are heavily borrowed from the food industry. Some e-cig companies (Mister Vapor) and vapor stores (Good Clean Vaoes) also use fairytale and anime characters to entice kids and teenagers to buy their products.

The sweet flavored additives in the vape juice help mask the bitterness of tobacco and the nicotine serves to addict teens. In addition to standard flavors, customers at retail “boutique” vape stores can enjoy the novel experience of working with a vapologist to create unique flavors by mixing any number of essences at a variety of nicotine strengths for a personalized vape. Some retail vape bars also have a “tasting bar” much like restaurants where consumers can try a variety of flavors.

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. A recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 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-cigs1.

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. 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

eJuice Companies – img30513

by

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

Fruits – img31594

by

The e-Cigarette (e-cig) industry zealously claims to target only adults and established smokers. As much as e-cig companies deny it, the plethora of vape juices in alcoholic or sweetened flavors and sugary names serve to make these products appealing to children and teenagers who are curious to experiment with tobacco products and are taken in by false notions of the “safe nature” of e-cigs.

E-cigs and ejuice are available in a number of fruit flavors including banana, watermelon, pineapple, and grape. In addition to these flavors, many ejuices are available in exotic flavors such as passion fruit, mango and lychee as well as in a cocktail of fruit flavors. The fruit flavored additives in the vape juice help mask the bitterness of tobacco and the nicotine serves to addict teens. Advertisements for fruit flavored e-cigs and ejuices include bright backgrounds that seek to draw all the attention to the fruits. Images of fruits slicing through water much helps convey a sense of freshness and purity to the product. If not for the brand name or the image of ejuice bottle by the side of the fruit, it would be easy to mistake many of the ads under this theme for ads by the food industry.

Flavored cigarettes and flavored tobacco have long been held to be gateway product for children and teens. There is now growing concern that the use of flavored e-cigs by youth could lead to them experimenting with regular cigarettes. A recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 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-cigs1.

With the Federal Drug Administration proposing 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. Some public health advocates are calling flavored e-cigs and vape juices the “Trojan horse” of nicotine addiction.

1. 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

Alcohol – img32546

by

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 of alcoholic flavors including beer, pina colada, mojito, margarita, brandy, whiskey, gin & tonic, amaretto, wine cigar, and sangria. By advertising alcoholic flavored e-cigs and vapor juices, e-cig manufacturers are appealing to teenager to break two adult taboos at once — alcohol and smoking — in a single activity.

Flavored cigarettes and flavored tobacco have long been held as a gateway product for children and teens. There is now 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 flavored additives, advocates fear that flavored e-cigs will serve to entice a new generation of kids to become addicted to nicotine based products. Some public health advocates are calling flavored e-cigs the “Trojan horse” of nicotine addiction.

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-ecigarette-use.html

Knock-Offs – img33757

by

Brands strive for brand loyalty as it often involves consumers being repeat purchasers of the brand’s products and in many cases, identifying with the interests of the brand. Most major retail companies have built brand loyalty over decades. Electronic cigarette (e-cig) manufacturers understanding the importance of brand loyalty in consumer purchasing habits are trying to reap the goodwill of these companies by designing knock-off products.

A large portion of these imitations are flavor knockoffs, or flavors with branding that strongly resembles or imitates an existing brand. Take “Starbuzz Tobacco”, a play on words of Starbucks Coffee, with a logo that shares the same concentric circles and color scheme. Starbucks is a popular brand amongst teenagers, especially teenaged girls, so this attempt to mimic the Starbucks brand is also an attempt to capture that image for the e-cig product as a hip product. Another example is Pink Spot Flavor’s Raging Bull flavors, which uses the same bull outline as the one in the Red Bull energy drink logo, and also adopts a very similar color scheme. The imitations continue beyond brand associations and encompass product associations – there are many instances of e-cig companies simply using the logo of a different brand in its own packaging. Many Juicy Fruit flavor iterations of various e-cig companies directly place the actual Juicy Fruit candy logo on their packaging, which, suffice to say, is massively appealing to children. There are also several variations of popular breakfast cereal flavored e-cigs including Lucky Charms.

The established brand name companies are beginning to take note. General Mills Inc., Girl Scouts of the USA, and Tootsie Roll Industries Inc. are among the brands that have started firing off cease-and-desist letters to makers of the flavored nicotine liquids used in e-cigs.1 With sales of e-cigs booming, e-cig companies can no longer fly under the radar after ripping off a large corporations trademark.

1. Candy, Snack Companies Want Names Off E-Cigs. Retrieved from http://blogs.findlaw.com/free_enterprise/2014/05/candy-snack-companies-want-names-off-e-cigs.html

Flavor Varieties – img24397

by

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

Candy – img30417

by

The e-Cigarette (e-cig) industry fervently claims to target only adult and primarily established smokers. As much as e-cig companies deny it, the plethora of vape juices in alcoholic or sweetened flavors and sugary names serve to make these products appealing to children and teenagers who are curious to experiment with tobacco products and are taken in by false notions of the “safe nature” of e-cigs.

Appealing to an almost universal love for candy and sweets, e-cigs and ejuice are available in a number of childhood favorite flavors including bubble gum, gummys, Bazzoka, Kool-Aid, sweet tarts, cotton candy, gum balls, Swedish fish and cheerios. The images used in the ads are heavily borrowed from the food industry. Some e-cig companies (Mister Vapor) and vapor stores (Good Clean Vaoes) also use fairytale and anime characters to entice kids and teenagers to buy their products.

The sweet flavored additives in the vape juice help mask the bitterness of tobacco and the nicotine serves to addict teens. In addition to standard flavors, customers at retail “boutique” vape stores can enjoy the novel experience of working with a vapologist to create unique flavors by mixing any number of essences at a variety of nicotine strengths for a personalized vape. Some retail vape bars also have a “tasting bar” much like restaurants where consumers can try a variety of flavors.

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. A recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 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-cigs1.

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. 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

eJuice Companies – img30514

by

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

Fruits – img31595

by

The e-Cigarette (e-cig) industry zealously claims to target only adults and established smokers. As much as e-cig companies deny it, the plethora of vape juices in alcoholic or sweetened flavors and sugary names serve to make these products appealing to children and teenagers who are curious to experiment with tobacco products and are taken in by false notions of the “safe nature” of e-cigs.

E-cigs and ejuice are available in a number of fruit flavors including banana, watermelon, pineapple, and grape. In addition to these flavors, many ejuices are available in exotic flavors such as passion fruit, mango and lychee as well as in a cocktail of fruit flavors. The fruit flavored additives in the vape juice help mask the bitterness of tobacco and the nicotine serves to addict teens. Advertisements for fruit flavored e-cigs and ejuices include bright backgrounds that seek to draw all the attention to the fruits. Images of fruits slicing through water much helps convey a sense of freshness and purity to the product. If not for the brand name or the image of ejuice bottle by the side of the fruit, it would be easy to mistake many of the ads under this theme for ads by the food industry.

Flavored cigarettes and flavored tobacco have long been held to be gateway product for children and teens. There is now growing concern that the use of flavored e-cigs by youth could lead to them experimenting with regular cigarettes. A recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 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-cigs1.

With the Federal Drug Administration proposing 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. Some public health advocates are calling flavored e-cigs and vape juices the “Trojan horse” of nicotine addiction.

1. 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

Alcohol – img32547

by

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 of alcoholic flavors including beer, pina colada, mojito, margarita, brandy, whiskey, gin & tonic, amaretto, wine cigar, and sangria. By advertising alcoholic flavored e-cigs and vapor juices, e-cig manufacturers are appealing to teenager to break two adult taboos at once — alcohol and smoking — in a single activity.

Flavored cigarettes and flavored tobacco have long been held as a gateway product for children and teens. There is now 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 flavored additives, advocates fear that flavored e-cigs will serve to entice a new generation of kids to become addicted to nicotine based products. Some public health advocates are calling flavored e-cigs the “Trojan horse” of nicotine addiction.

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-ecigarette-use.html

Knock-Offs – img33758

by

Brands strive for brand loyalty as it often involves consumers being repeat purchasers of the brand’s products and in many cases, identifying with the interests of the brand. Most major retail companies have built brand loyalty over decades. Electronic cigarette (e-cig) manufacturers understanding the importance of brand loyalty in consumer purchasing habits are trying to reap the goodwill of these companies by designing knock-off products.

A large portion of these imitations are flavor knockoffs, or flavors with branding that strongly resembles or imitates an existing brand. Take “Starbuzz Tobacco”, a play on words of Starbucks Coffee, with a logo that shares the same concentric circles and color scheme. Starbucks is a popular brand amongst teenagers, especially teenaged girls, so this attempt to mimic the Starbucks brand is also an attempt to capture that image for the e-cig product as a hip product. Another example is Pink Spot Flavor’s Raging Bull flavors, which uses the same bull outline as the one in the Red Bull energy drink logo, and also adopts a very similar color scheme. The imitations continue beyond brand associations and encompass product associations – there are many instances of e-cig companies simply using the logo of a different brand in its own packaging. Many Juicy Fruit flavor iterations of various e-cig companies directly place the actual Juicy Fruit candy logo on their packaging, which, suffice to say, is massively appealing to children. There are also several variations of popular breakfast cereal flavored e-cigs including Lucky Charms.

The established brand name companies are beginning to take note. General Mills Inc., Girl Scouts of the USA, and Tootsie Roll Industries Inc. are among the brands that have started firing off cease-and-desist letters to makers of the flavored nicotine liquids used in e-cigs.1 With sales of e-cigs booming, e-cig companies can no longer fly under the radar after ripping off a large corporations trademark.

1. Candy, Snack Companies Want Names Off E-Cigs. Retrieved from http://blogs.findlaw.com/free_enterprise/2014/05/candy-snack-companies-want-names-off-e-cigs.html

Flavor Varieties – img24398

by

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

Candy – img30418

by

The e-Cigarette (e-cig) industry fervently claims to target only adult and primarily established smokers. As much as e-cig companies deny it, the plethora of vape juices in alcoholic or sweetened flavors and sugary names serve to make these products appealing to children and teenagers who are curious to experiment with tobacco products and are taken in by false notions of the “safe nature” of e-cigs.

Appealing to an almost universal love for candy and sweets, e-cigs and ejuice are available in a number of childhood favorite flavors including bubble gum, gummys, Bazzoka, Kool-Aid, sweet tarts, cotton candy, gum balls, Swedish fish and cheerios. The images used in the ads are heavily borrowed from the food industry. Some e-cig companies (Mister Vapor) and vapor stores (Good Clean Vaoes) also use fairytale and anime characters to entice kids and teenagers to buy their products.

The sweet flavored additives in the vape juice help mask the bitterness of tobacco and the nicotine serves to addict teens. In addition to standard flavors, customers at retail “boutique” vape stores can enjoy the novel experience of working with a vapologist to create unique flavors by mixing any number of essences at a variety of nicotine strengths for a personalized vape. Some retail vape bars also have a “tasting bar” much like restaurants where consumers can try a variety of flavors.

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. A recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 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-cigs1.

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. 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

eJuice Companies – img30515

by

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

Fruits – img31596

by

The e-Cigarette (e-cig) industry zealously claims to target only adults and established smokers. As much as e-cig companies deny it, the plethora of vape juices in alcoholic or sweetened flavors and sugary names serve to make these products appealing to children and teenagers who are curious to experiment with tobacco products and are taken in by false notions of the “safe nature” of e-cigs.

E-cigs and ejuice are available in a number of fruit flavors including banana, watermelon, pineapple, and grape. In addition to these flavors, many ejuices are available in exotic flavors such as passion fruit, mango and lychee as well as in a cocktail of fruit flavors. The fruit flavored additives in the vape juice help mask the bitterness of tobacco and the nicotine serves to addict teens. Advertisements for fruit flavored e-cigs and ejuices include bright backgrounds that seek to draw all the attention to the fruits. Images of fruits slicing through water much helps convey a sense of freshness and purity to the product. If not for the brand name or the image of ejuice bottle by the side of the fruit, it would be easy to mistake many of the ads under this theme for ads by the food industry.

Flavored cigarettes and flavored tobacco have long been held to be gateway product for children and teens. There is now growing concern that the use of flavored e-cigs by youth could lead to them experimenting with regular cigarettes. A recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 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-cigs1.

With the Federal Drug Administration proposing 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. Some public health advocates are calling flavored e-cigs and vape juices the “Trojan horse” of nicotine addiction.

1. 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

Alcohol – img32548

by

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 of alcoholic flavors including beer, pina colada, mojito, margarita, brandy, whiskey, gin & tonic, amaretto, wine cigar, and sangria. By advertising alcoholic flavored e-cigs and vapor juices, e-cig manufacturers are appealing to teenager to break two adult taboos at once — alcohol and smoking — in a single activity.

Flavored cigarettes and flavored tobacco have long been held as a gateway product for children and teens. There is now 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 flavored additives, advocates fear that flavored e-cigs will serve to entice a new generation of kids to become addicted to nicotine based products. Some public health advocates are calling flavored e-cigs the “Trojan horse” of nicotine addiction.

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-ecigarette-use.html

Knock-Offs – img33759

by

Brands strive for brand loyalty as it often involves consumers being repeat purchasers of the brand’s products and in many cases, identifying with the interests of the brand. Most major retail companies have built brand loyalty over decades. Electronic cigarette (e-cig) manufacturers understanding the importance of brand loyalty in consumer purchasing habits are trying to reap the goodwill of these companies by designing knock-off products.

A large portion of these imitations are flavor knockoffs, or flavors with branding that strongly resembles or imitates an existing brand. Take “Starbuzz Tobacco”, a play on words of Starbucks Coffee, with a logo that shares the same concentric circles and color scheme. Starbucks is a popular brand amongst teenagers, especially teenaged girls, so this attempt to mimic the Starbucks brand is also an attempt to capture that image for the e-cig product as a hip product. Another example is Pink Spot Flavor’s Raging Bull flavors, which uses the same bull outline as the one in the Red Bull energy drink logo, and also adopts a very similar color scheme. The imitations continue beyond brand associations and encompass product associations – there are many instances of e-cig companies simply using the logo of a different brand in its own packaging. Many Juicy Fruit flavor iterations of various e-cig companies directly place the actual Juicy Fruit candy logo on their packaging, which, suffice to say, is massively appealing to children. There are also several variations of popular breakfast cereal flavored e-cigs including Lucky Charms.

The established brand name companies are beginning to take note. General Mills Inc., Girl Scouts of the USA, and Tootsie Roll Industries Inc. are among the brands that have started firing off cease-and-desist letters to makers of the flavored nicotine liquids used in e-cigs.1 With sales of e-cigs booming, e-cig companies can no longer fly under the radar after ripping off a large corporations trademark.

1. Candy, Snack Companies Want Names Off E-Cigs. Retrieved from http://blogs.findlaw.com/free_enterprise/2014/05/candy-snack-companies-want-names-off-e-cigs.html

Flavor Varieties – img24399

by

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

Candy – img30419

by

The e-Cigarette (e-cig) industry fervently claims to target only adult and primarily established smokers. As much as e-cig companies deny it, the plethora of vape juices in alcoholic or sweetened flavors and sugary names serve to make these products appealing to children and teenagers who are curious to experiment with tobacco products and are taken in by false notions of the “safe nature” of e-cigs.

Appealing to an almost universal love for candy and sweets, e-cigs and ejuice are available in a number of childhood favorite flavors including bubble gum, gummys, Bazzoka, Kool-Aid, sweet tarts, cotton candy, gum balls, Swedish fish and cheerios. The images used in the ads are heavily borrowed from the food industry. Some e-cig companies (Mister Vapor) and vapor stores (Good Clean Vaoes) also use fairytale and anime characters to entice kids and teenagers to buy their products.

The sweet flavored additives in the vape juice help mask the bitterness of tobacco and the nicotine serves to addict teens. In addition to standard flavors, customers at retail “boutique” vape stores can enjoy the novel experience of working with a vapologist to create unique flavors by mixing any number of essences at a variety of nicotine strengths for a personalized vape. Some retail vape bars also have a “tasting bar” much like restaurants where consumers can try a variety of flavors.

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. A recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 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-cigs1.

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. 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

eJuice Companies – img30516

by

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

Fruits – img31597

by

The e-Cigarette (e-cig) industry zealously claims to target only adults and established smokers. As much as e-cig companies deny it, the plethora of vape juices in alcoholic or sweetened flavors and sugary names serve to make these products appealing to children and teenagers who are curious to experiment with tobacco products and are taken in by false notions of the “safe nature” of e-cigs.

E-cigs and ejuice are available in a number of fruit flavors including banana, watermelon, pineapple, and grape. In addition to these flavors, many ejuices are available in exotic flavors such as passion fruit, mango and lychee as well as in a cocktail of fruit flavors. The fruit flavored additives in the vape juice help mask the bitterness of tobacco and the nicotine serves to addict teens. Advertisements for fruit flavored e-cigs and ejuices include bright backgrounds that seek to draw all the attention to the fruits. Images of fruits slicing through water much helps convey a sense of freshness and purity to the product. If not for the brand name or the image of ejuice bottle by the side of the fruit, it would be easy to mistake many of the ads under this theme for ads by the food industry.

Flavored cigarettes and flavored tobacco have long been held to be gateway product for children and teens. There is now growing concern that the use of flavored e-cigs by youth could lead to them experimenting with regular cigarettes. A recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 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-cigs1.

With the Federal Drug Administration proposing 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. Some public health advocates are calling flavored e-cigs and vape juices the “Trojan horse” of nicotine addiction.

1. 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

Alcohol – img32549

by

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 of alcoholic flavors including beer, pina colada, mojito, margarita, brandy, whiskey, gin & tonic, amaretto, wine cigar, and sangria. By advertising alcoholic flavored e-cigs and vapor juices, e-cig manufacturers are appealing to teenager to break two adult taboos at once — alcohol and smoking — in a single activity.

Flavored cigarettes and flavored tobacco have long been held as a gateway product for children and teens. There is now 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 flavored additives, advocates fear that flavored e-cigs will serve to entice a new generation of kids to become addicted to nicotine based products. Some public health advocates are calling flavored e-cigs the “Trojan horse” of nicotine addiction.

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-ecigarette-use.html

Knock-Offs – img33760

by

Brands strive for brand loyalty as it often involves consumers being repeat purchasers of the brand’s products and in many cases, identifying with the interests of the brand. Most major retail companies have built brand loyalty over decades. Electronic cigarette (e-cig) manufacturers understanding the importance of brand loyalty in consumer purchasing habits are trying to reap the goodwill of these companies by designing knock-off products.

A large portion of these imitations are flavor knockoffs, or flavors with branding that strongly resembles or imitates an existing brand. Take “Starbuzz Tobacco”, a play on words of Starbucks Coffee, with a logo that shares the same concentric circles and color scheme. Starbucks is a popular brand amongst teenagers, especially teenaged girls, so this attempt to mimic the Starbucks brand is also an attempt to capture that image for the e-cig product as a hip product. Another example is Pink Spot Flavor’s Raging Bull flavors, which uses the same bull outline as the one in the Red Bull energy drink logo, and also adopts a very similar color scheme. The imitations continue beyond brand associations and encompass product associations – there are many instances of e-cig companies simply using the logo of a different brand in its own packaging. Many Juicy Fruit flavor iterations of various e-cig companies directly place the actual Juicy Fruit candy logo on their packaging, which, suffice to say, is massively appealing to children. There are also several variations of popular breakfast cereal flavored e-cigs including Lucky Charms.

The established brand name companies are beginning to take note. General Mills Inc., Girl Scouts of the USA, and Tootsie Roll Industries Inc. are among the brands that have started firing off cease-and-desist letters to makers of the flavored nicotine liquids used in e-cigs.1 With sales of e-cigs booming, e-cig companies can no longer fly under the radar after ripping off a large corporations trademark.

1. Candy, Snack Companies Want Names Off E-Cigs. Retrieved from http://blogs.findlaw.com/free_enterprise/2014/05/candy-snack-companies-want-names-off-e-cigs.html

Flavor Varieties – img24400

by

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

Candy – img30420

by

The e-Cigarette (e-cig) industry fervently claims to target only adult and primarily established smokers. As much as e-cig companies deny it, the plethora of vape juices in alcoholic or sweetened flavors and sugary names serve to make these products appealing to children and teenagers who are curious to experiment with tobacco products and are taken in by false notions of the “safe nature” of e-cigs.

Appealing to an almost universal love for candy and sweets, e-cigs and ejuice are available in a number of childhood favorite flavors including bubble gum, gummys, Bazzoka, Kool-Aid, sweet tarts, cotton candy, gum balls, Swedish fish and cheerios. The images used in the ads are heavily borrowed from the food industry. Some e-cig companies (Mister Vapor) and vapor stores (Good Clean Vaoes) also use fairytale and anime characters to entice kids and teenagers to buy their products.

The sweet flavored additives in the vape juice help mask the bitterness of tobacco and the nicotine serves to addict teens. In addition to standard flavors, customers at retail “boutique” vape stores can enjoy the novel experience of working with a vapologist to create unique flavors by mixing any number of essences at a variety of nicotine strengths for a personalized vape. Some retail vape bars also have a “tasting bar” much like restaurants where consumers can try a variety of flavors.

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. A recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 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-cigs1.

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. 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

eJuice Companies – img30517

by

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

Fruits – img31598

by

The e-Cigarette (e-cig) industry zealously claims to target only adults and established smokers. As much as e-cig companies deny it, the plethora of vape juices in alcoholic or sweetened flavors and sugary names serve to make these products appealing to children and teenagers who are curious to experiment with tobacco products and are taken in by false notions of the “safe nature” of e-cigs.

E-cigs and ejuice are available in a number of fruit flavors including banana, watermelon, pineapple, and grape. In addition to these flavors, many ejuices are available in exotic flavors such as passion fruit, mango and lychee as well as in a cocktail of fruit flavors. The fruit flavored additives in the vape juice help mask the bitterness of tobacco and the nicotine serves to addict teens. Advertisements for fruit flavored e-cigs and ejuices include bright backgrounds that seek to draw all the attention to the fruits. Images of fruits slicing through water much helps convey a sense of freshness and purity to the product. If not for the brand name or the image of ejuice bottle by the side of the fruit, it would be easy to mistake many of the ads under this theme for ads by the food industry.

Flavored cigarettes and flavored tobacco have long been held to be gateway product for children and teens. There is now growing concern that the use of flavored e-cigs by youth could lead to them experimenting with regular cigarettes. A recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 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-cigs1.

With the Federal Drug Administration proposing 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. Some public health advocates are calling flavored e-cigs and vape juices the “Trojan horse” of nicotine addiction.

1. 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

Alcohol – img32550

by

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 of alcoholic flavors including beer, pina colada, mojito, margarita, brandy, whiskey, gin & tonic, amaretto, wine cigar, and sangria. By advertising alcoholic flavored e-cigs and vapor juices, e-cig manufacturers are appealing to teenager to break two adult taboos at once — alcohol and smoking — in a single activity.

Flavored cigarettes and flavored tobacco have long been held as a gateway product for children and teens. There is now 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 flavored additives, advocates fear that flavored e-cigs will serve to entice a new generation of kids to become addicted to nicotine based products. Some public health advocates are calling flavored e-cigs the “Trojan horse” of nicotine addiction.

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-ecigarette-use.html

Knock-Offs – img33761

by

Brands strive for brand loyalty as it often involves consumers being repeat purchasers of the brand’s products and in many cases, identifying with the interests of the brand. Most major retail companies have built brand loyalty over decades. Electronic cigarette (e-cig) manufacturers understanding the importance of brand loyalty in consumer purchasing habits are trying to reap the goodwill of these companies by designing knock-off products.

A large portion of these imitations are flavor knockoffs, or flavors with branding that strongly resembles or imitates an existing brand. Take “Starbuzz Tobacco”, a play on words of Starbucks Coffee, with a logo that shares the same concentric circles and color scheme. Starbucks is a popular brand amongst teenagers, especially teenaged girls, so this attempt to mimic the Starbucks brand is also an attempt to capture that image for the e-cig product as a hip product. Another example is Pink Spot Flavor’s Raging Bull flavors, which uses the same bull outline as the one in the Red Bull energy drink logo, and also adopts a very similar color scheme. The imitations continue beyond brand associations and encompass product associations – there are many instances of e-cig companies simply using the logo of a different brand in its own packaging. Many Juicy Fruit flavor iterations of various e-cig companies directly place the actual Juicy Fruit candy logo on their packaging, which, suffice to say, is massively appealing to children. There are also several variations of popular breakfast cereal flavored e-cigs including Lucky Charms.

The established brand name companies are beginning to take note. General Mills Inc., Girl Scouts of the USA, and Tootsie Roll Industries Inc. are among the brands that have started firing off cease-and-desist letters to makers of the flavored nicotine liquids used in e-cigs.1 With sales of e-cigs booming, e-cig companies can no longer fly under the radar after ripping off a large corporations trademark.

1. Candy, Snack Companies Want Names Off E-Cigs. Retrieved from http://blogs.findlaw.com/free_enterprise/2014/05/candy-snack-companies-want-names-off-e-cigs.html

Flavor Varieties – img24401

by

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

Candy – img30421

by

The e-Cigarette (e-cig) industry fervently claims to target only adult and primarily established smokers. As much as e-cig companies deny it, the plethora of vape juices in alcoholic or sweetened flavors and sugary names serve to make these products appealing to children and teenagers who are curious to experiment with tobacco products and are taken in by false notions of the “safe nature” of e-cigs.

Appealing to an almost universal love for candy and sweets, e-cigs and ejuice are available in a number of childhood favorite flavors including bubble gum, gummys, Bazzoka, Kool-Aid, sweet tarts, cotton candy, gum balls, Swedish fish and cheerios. The images used in the ads are heavily borrowed from the food industry. Some e-cig companies (Mister Vapor) and vapor stores (Good Clean Vaoes) also use fairytale and anime characters to entice kids and teenagers to buy their products.

The sweet flavored additives in the vape juice help mask the bitterness of tobacco and the nicotine serves to addict teens. In addition to standard flavors, customers at retail “boutique” vape stores can enjoy the novel experience of working with a vapologist to create unique flavors by mixing any number of essences at a variety of nicotine strengths for a personalized vape. Some retail vape bars also have a “tasting bar” much like restaurants where consumers can try a variety of flavors.

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. A recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 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-cigs1.

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. 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

eJuice Companies – img30518

by

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

Fruits – img31599

by

The e-Cigarette (e-cig) industry zealously claims to target only adults and established smokers. As much as e-cig companies deny it, the plethora of vape juices in alcoholic or sweetened flavors and sugary names serve to make these products appealing to children and teenagers who are curious to experiment with tobacco products and are taken in by false notions of the “safe nature” of e-cigs.

E-cigs and ejuice are available in a number of fruit flavors including banana, watermelon, pineapple, and grape. In addition to these flavors, many ejuices are available in exotic flavors such as passion fruit, mango and lychee as well as in a cocktail of fruit flavors. The fruit flavored additives in the vape juice help mask the bitterness of tobacco and the nicotine serves to addict teens. Advertisements for fruit flavored e-cigs and ejuices include bright backgrounds that seek to draw all the attention to the fruits. Images of fruits slicing through water much helps convey a sense of freshness and purity to the product. If not for the brand name or the image of ejuice bottle by the side of the fruit, it would be easy to mistake many of the ads under this theme for ads by the food industry.

Flavored cigarettes and flavored tobacco have long been held to be gateway product for children and teens. There is now growing concern that the use of flavored e-cigs by youth could lead to them experimenting with regular cigarettes. A recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 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-cigs1.

With the Federal Drug Administration proposing 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. Some public health advocates are calling flavored e-cigs and vape juices the “Trojan horse” of nicotine addiction.

1. 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

Alcohol – img32551

by

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 of alcoholic flavors including beer, pina colada, mojito, margarita, brandy, whiskey, gin & tonic, amaretto, wine cigar, and sangria. By advertising alcoholic flavored e-cigs and vapor juices, e-cig manufacturers are appealing to teenager to break two adult taboos at once — alcohol and smoking — in a single activity.

Flavored cigarettes and flavored tobacco have long been held as a gateway product for children and teens. There is now 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 flavored additives, advocates fear that flavored e-cigs will serve to entice a new generation of kids to become addicted to nicotine based products. Some public health advocates are calling flavored e-cigs the “Trojan horse” of nicotine addiction.

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-ecigarette-use.html

Knock-Offs – img33762

by

Brands strive for brand loyalty as it often involves consumers being repeat purchasers of the brand’s products and in many cases, identifying with the interests of the brand. Most major retail companies have built brand loyalty over decades. Electronic cigarette (e-cig) manufacturers understanding the importance of brand loyalty in consumer purchasing habits are trying to reap the goodwill of these companies by designing knock-off products.

A large portion of these imitations are flavor knockoffs, or flavors with branding that strongly resembles or imitates an existing brand. Take “Starbuzz Tobacco”, a play on words of Starbucks Coffee, with a logo that shares the same concentric circles and color scheme. Starbucks is a popular brand amongst teenagers, especially teenaged girls, so this attempt to mimic the Starbucks brand is also an attempt to capture that image for the e-cig product as a hip product. Another example is Pink Spot Flavor’s Raging Bull flavors, which uses the same bull outline as the one in the Red Bull energy drink logo, and also adopts a very similar color scheme. The imitations continue beyond brand associations and encompass product associations – there are many instances of e-cig companies simply using the logo of a different brand in its own packaging. Many Juicy Fruit flavor iterations of various e-cig companies directly place the actual Juicy Fruit candy logo on their packaging, which, suffice to say, is massively appealing to children. There are also several variations of popular breakfast cereal flavored e-cigs including Lucky Charms.

The established brand name companies are beginning to take note. General Mills Inc., Girl Scouts of the USA, and Tootsie Roll Industries Inc. are among the brands that have started firing off cease-and-desist letters to makers of the flavored nicotine liquids used in e-cigs.1 With sales of e-cigs booming, e-cig companies can no longer fly under the radar after ripping off a large corporations trademark.

1. Candy, Snack Companies Want Names Off E-Cigs. Retrieved from http://blogs.findlaw.com/free_enterprise/2014/05/candy-snack-companies-want-names-off-e-cigs.html

Flavor Varieties – img24402

by

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

eJuice Companies – img30519

by

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

Candy – img31957

by

The e-Cigarette (e-cig) industry fervently claims to target only adult and primarily established smokers. As much as e-cig companies deny it, the plethora of vape juices in alcoholic or sweetened flavors and sugary names serve to make these products appealing to children and teenagers who are curious to experiment with tobacco products and are taken in by false notions of the “safe nature” of e-cigs.

Appealing to an almost universal love for candy and sweets, e-cigs and ejuice are available in a number of childhood favorite flavors including bubble gum, gummys, Bazzoka, Kool-Aid, sweet tarts, cotton candy, gum balls, Swedish fish and cheerios. The images used in the ads are heavily borrowed from the food industry. Some e-cig companies (Mister Vapor) and vapor stores (Good Clean Vaoes) also use fairytale and anime characters to entice kids and teenagers to buy their products.

The sweet flavored additives in the vape juice help mask the bitterness of tobacco and the nicotine serves to addict teens. In addition to standard flavors, customers at retail “boutique” vape stores can enjoy the novel experience of working with a vapologist to create unique flavors by mixing any number of essences at a variety of nicotine strengths for a personalized vape. Some retail vape bars also have a “tasting bar” much like restaurants where consumers can try a variety of flavors.

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. A recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 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-cigs1.

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. 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

Fruits – img31600

by

The e-Cigarette (e-cig) industry zealously claims to target only adults and established smokers. As much as e-cig companies deny it, the plethora of vape juices in alcoholic or sweetened flavors and sugary names serve to make these products appealing to children and teenagers who are curious to experiment with tobacco products and are taken in by false notions of the “safe nature” of e-cigs.

E-cigs and ejuice are available in a number of fruit flavors including banana, watermelon, pineapple, and grape. In addition to these flavors, many ejuices are available in exotic flavors such as passion fruit, mango and lychee as well as in a cocktail of fruit flavors. The fruit flavored additives in the vape juice help mask the bitterness of tobacco and the nicotine serves to addict teens. Advertisements for fruit flavored e-cigs and ejuices include bright backgrounds that seek to draw all the attention to the fruits. Images of fruits slicing through water much helps convey a sense of freshness and purity to the product. If not for the brand name or the image of ejuice bottle by the side of the fruit, it would be easy to mistake many of the ads under this theme for ads by the food industry.

Flavored cigarettes and flavored tobacco have long been held to be gateway product for children and teens. There is now growing concern that the use of flavored e-cigs by youth could lead to them experimenting with regular cigarettes. A recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 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-cigs1.

With the Federal Drug Administration proposing 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. Some public health advocates are calling flavored e-cigs and vape juices the “Trojan horse” of nicotine addiction.

1. 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

Alcohol – img32552

by

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 of alcoholic flavors including beer, pina colada, mojito, margarita, brandy, whiskey, gin & tonic, amaretto, wine cigar, and sangria. By advertising alcoholic flavored e-cigs and vapor juices, e-cig manufacturers are appealing to teenager to break two adult taboos at once — alcohol and smoking — in a single activity.

Flavored cigarettes and flavored tobacco have long been held as a gateway product for children and teens. There is now 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 flavored additives, advocates fear that flavored e-cigs will serve to entice a new generation of kids to become addicted to nicotine based products. Some public health advocates are calling flavored e-cigs the “Trojan horse” of nicotine addiction.

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-ecigarette-use.html

Knock-Offs – img33763

by

Brands strive for brand loyalty as it often involves consumers being repeat purchasers of the brand’s products and in many cases, identifying with the interests of the brand. Most major retail companies have built brand loyalty over decades. Electronic cigarette (e-cig) manufacturers understanding the importance of brand loyalty in consumer purchasing habits are trying to reap the goodwill of these companies by designing knock-off products.

A large portion of these imitations are flavor knockoffs, or flavors with branding that strongly resembles or imitates an existing brand. Take “Starbuzz Tobacco”, a play on words of Starbucks Coffee, with a logo that shares the same concentric circles and color scheme. Starbucks is a popular brand amongst teenagers, especially teenaged girls, so this attempt to mimic the Starbucks brand is also an attempt to capture that image for the e-cig product as a hip product. Another example is Pink Spot Flavor’s Raging Bull flavors, which uses the same bull outline as the one in the Red Bull energy drink logo, and also adopts a very similar color scheme. The imitations continue beyond brand associations and encompass product associations – there are many instances of e-cig companies simply using the logo of a different brand in its own packaging. Many Juicy Fruit flavor iterations of various e-cig companies directly place the actual Juicy Fruit candy logo on their packaging, which, suffice to say, is massively appealing to children. There are also several variations of popular breakfast cereal flavored e-cigs including Lucky Charms.

The established brand name companies are beginning to take note. General Mills Inc., Girl Scouts of the USA, and Tootsie Roll Industries Inc. are among the brands that have started firing off cease-and-desist letters to makers of the flavored nicotine liquids used in e-cigs.1 With sales of e-cigs booming, e-cig companies can no longer fly under the radar after ripping off a large corporations trademark.

1. Candy, Snack Companies Want Names Off E-Cigs. Retrieved from http://blogs.findlaw.com/free_enterprise/2014/05/candy-snack-companies-want-names-off-e-cigs.html

Flavor Varieties – img24403

by

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

eJuice Companies – img30520

by

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

Candy – img31958

by

The e-Cigarette (e-cig) industry fervently claims to target only adult and primarily established smokers. As much as e-cig companies deny it, the plethora of vape juices in alcoholic or sweetened flavors and sugary names serve to make these products appealing to children and teenagers who are curious to experiment with tobacco products and are taken in by false notions of the “safe nature” of e-cigs.

Appealing to an almost universal love for candy and sweets, e-cigs and ejuice are available in a number of childhood favorite flavors including bubble gum, gummys, Bazzoka, Kool-Aid, sweet tarts, cotton candy, gum balls, Swedish fish and cheerios. The images used in the ads are heavily borrowed from the food industry. Some e-cig companies (Mister Vapor) and vapor stores (Good Clean Vaoes) also use fairytale and anime characters to entice kids and teenagers to buy their products.

The sweet flavored additives in the vape juice help mask the bitterness of tobacco and the nicotine serves to addict teens. In addition to standard flavors, customers at retail “boutique” vape stores can enjoy the novel experience of working with a vapologist to create unique flavors by mixing any number of essences at a variety of nicotine strengths for a personalized vape. Some retail vape bars also have a “tasting bar” much like restaurants where consumers can try a variety of flavors.

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. A recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 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-cigs1.

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. 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

Fruits – img31601

by

The e-Cigarette (e-cig) industry zealously claims to target only adults and established smokers. As much as e-cig companies deny it, the plethora of vape juices in alcoholic or sweetened flavors and sugary names serve to make these products appealing to children and teenagers who are curious to experiment with tobacco products and are taken in by false notions of the “safe nature” of e-cigs.

E-cigs and ejuice are available in a number of fruit flavors including banana, watermelon, pineapple, and grape. In addition to these flavors, many ejuices are available in exotic flavors such as passion fruit, mango and lychee as well as in a cocktail of fruit flavors. The fruit flavored additives in the vape juice help mask the bitterness of tobacco and the nicotine serves to addict teens. Advertisements for fruit flavored e-cigs and ejuices include bright backgrounds that seek to draw all the attention to the fruits. Images of fruits slicing through water much helps convey a sense of freshness and purity to the product. If not for the brand name or the image of ejuice bottle by the side of the fruit, it would be easy to mistake many of the ads under this theme for ads by the food industry.

Flavored cigarettes and flavored tobacco have long been held to be gateway product for children and teens. There is now growing concern that the use of flavored e-cigs by youth could lead to them experimenting with regular cigarettes. A recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 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-cigs1.

With the Federal Drug Administration proposing 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. Some public health advocates are calling flavored e-cigs and vape juices the “Trojan horse” of nicotine addiction.

1. 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

Alcohol – img32553

by

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 of alcoholic flavors including beer, pina colada, mojito, margarita, brandy, whiskey, gin & tonic, amaretto, wine cigar, and sangria. By advertising alcoholic flavored e-cigs and vapor juices, e-cig manufacturers are appealing to teenager to break two adult taboos at once — alcohol and smoking — in a single activity.

Flavored cigarettes and flavored tobacco have long been held as a gateway product for children and teens. There is now 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 flavored additives, advocates fear that flavored e-cigs will serve to entice a new generation of kids to become addicted to nicotine based products. Some public health advocates are calling flavored e-cigs the “Trojan horse” of nicotine addiction.

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-ecigarette-use.html

Knock-Offs – img33764

by

Brands strive for brand loyalty as it often involves consumers being repeat purchasers of the brand’s products and in many cases, identifying with the interests of the brand. Most major retail companies have built brand loyalty over decades. Electronic cigarette (e-cig) manufacturers understanding the importance of brand loyalty in consumer purchasing habits are trying to reap the goodwill of these companies by designing knock-off products.

A large portion of these imitations are flavor knockoffs, or flavors with branding that strongly resembles or imitates an existing brand. Take “Starbuzz Tobacco”, a play on words of Starbucks Coffee, with a logo that shares the same concentric circles and color scheme. Starbucks is a popular brand amongst teenagers, especially teenaged girls, so this attempt to mimic the Starbucks brand is also an attempt to capture that image for the e-cig product as a hip product. Another example is Pink Spot Flavor’s Raging Bull flavors, which uses the same bull outline as the one in the Red Bull energy drink logo, and also adopts a very similar color scheme. The imitations continue beyond brand associations and encompass product associations – there are many instances of e-cig companies simply using the logo of a different brand in its own packaging. Many Juicy Fruit flavor iterations of various e-cig companies directly place the actual Juicy Fruit candy logo on their packaging, which, suffice to say, is massively appealing to children. There are also several variations of popular breakfast cereal flavored e-cigs including Lucky Charms.

The established brand name companies are beginning to take note. General Mills Inc., Girl Scouts of the USA, and Tootsie Roll Industries Inc. are among the brands that have started firing off cease-and-desist letters to makers of the flavored nicotine liquids used in e-cigs.1 With sales of e-cigs booming, e-cig companies can no longer fly under the radar after ripping off a large corporations trademark.

1. Candy, Snack Companies Want Names Off E-Cigs. Retrieved from http://blogs.findlaw.com/free_enterprise/2014/05/candy-snack-companies-want-names-off-e-cigs.html

Flavor Varieties – img24404

by

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

eJuice Companies – img30521

by

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

Candy – img31959

by

The e-Cigarette (e-cig) industry fervently claims to target only adult and primarily established smokers. As much as e-cig companies deny it, the plethora of vape juices in alcoholic or sweetened flavors and sugary names serve to make these products appealing to children and teenagers who are curious to experiment with tobacco products and are taken in by false notions of the “safe nature” of e-cigs.

Appealing to an almost universal love for candy and sweets, e-cigs and ejuice are available in a number of childhood favorite flavors including bubble gum, gummys, Bazzoka, Kool-Aid, sweet tarts, cotton candy, gum balls, Swedish fish and cheerios. The images used in the ads are heavily borrowed from the food industry. Some e-cig companies (Mister Vapor) and vapor stores (Good Clean Vaoes) also use fairytale and anime characters to entice kids and teenagers to buy their products.

The sweet flavored additives in the vape juice help mask the bitterness of tobacco and the nicotine serves to addict teens. In addition to standard flavors, customers at retail “boutique” vape stores can enjoy the novel experience of working with a vapologist to create unique flavors by mixing any number of essences at a variety of nicotine strengths for a personalized vape. Some retail vape bars also have a “tasting bar” much like restaurants where consumers can try a variety of flavors.

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. A recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 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-cigs1.

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. 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

Fruits – img31602

by

The e-Cigarette (e-cig) industry zealously claims to target only adults and established smokers. As much as e-cig companies deny it, the plethora of vape juices in alcoholic or sweetened flavors and sugary names serve to make these products appealing to children and teenagers who are curious to experiment with tobacco products and are taken in by false notions of the “safe nature” of e-cigs.

E-cigs and ejuice are available in a number of fruit flavors including banana, watermelon, pineapple, and grape. In addition to these flavors, many ejuices are available in exotic flavors such as passion fruit, mango and lychee as well as in a cocktail of fruit flavors. The fruit flavored additives in the vape juice help mask the bitterness of tobacco and the nicotine serves to addict teens. Advertisements for fruit flavored e-cigs and ejuices include bright backgrounds that seek to draw all the attention to the fruits. Images of fruits slicing through water much helps convey a sense of freshness and purity to the product. If not for the brand name or the image of ejuice bottle by the side of the fruit, it would be easy to mistake many of the ads under this theme for ads by the food industry.

Flavored cigarettes and flavored tobacco have long been held to be gateway product for children and teens. There is now growing concern that the use of flavored e-cigs by youth could lead to them experimenting with regular cigarettes. A recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 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-cigs1.

With the Federal Drug Administration proposing 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. Some public health advocates are calling flavored e-cigs and vape juices the “Trojan horse” of nicotine addiction.

1. 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

Alcohol – img32554

by

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 of alcoholic flavors including beer, pina colada, mojito, margarita, brandy, whiskey, gin & tonic, amaretto, wine cigar, and sangria. By advertising alcoholic flavored e-cigs and vapor juices, e-cig manufacturers are appealing to teenager to break two adult taboos at once — alcohol and smoking — in a single activity.

Flavored cigarettes and flavored tobacco have long been held as a gateway product for children and teens. There is now 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 flavored additives, advocates fear that flavored e-cigs will serve to entice a new generation of kids to become addicted to nicotine based products. Some public health advocates are calling flavored e-cigs the “Trojan horse” of nicotine addiction.

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-ecigarette-use.html

Knock-Offs – img33765

by

Brands strive for brand loyalty as it often involves consumers being repeat purchasers of the brand’s products and in many cases, identifying with the interests of the brand. Most major retail companies have built brand loyalty over decades. Electronic cigarette (e-cig) manufacturers understanding the importance of brand loyalty in consumer purchasing habits are trying to reap the goodwill of these companies by designing knock-off products.

A large portion of these imitations are flavor knockoffs, or flavors with branding that strongly resembles or imitates an existing brand. Take “Starbuzz Tobacco”, a play on words of Starbucks Coffee, with a logo that shares the same concentric circles and color scheme. Starbucks is a popular brand amongst teenagers, especially teenaged girls, so this attempt to mimic the Starbucks brand is also an attempt to capture that image for the e-cig product as a hip product. Another example is Pink Spot Flavor’s Raging Bull flavors, which uses the same bull outline as the one in the Red Bull energy drink logo, and also adopts a very similar color scheme. The imitations continue beyond brand associations and encompass product associations – there are many instances of e-cig companies simply using the logo of a different brand in its own packaging. Many Juicy Fruit flavor iterations of various e-cig companies directly place the actual Juicy Fruit candy logo on their packaging, which, suffice to say, is massively appealing to children. There are also several variations of popular breakfast cereal flavored e-cigs including Lucky Charms.

The established brand name companies are beginning to take note. General Mills Inc., Girl Scouts of the USA, and Tootsie Roll Industries Inc. are among the brands that have started firing off cease-and-desist letters to makers of the flavored nicotine liquids used in e-cigs.1 With sales of e-cigs booming, e-cig companies can no longer fly under the radar after ripping off a large corporations trademark.

1. Candy, Snack Companies Want Names Off E-Cigs. Retrieved from http://blogs.findlaw.com/free_enterprise/2014/05/candy-snack-companies-want-names-off-e-cigs.html

Flavor Varieties – img18641

by

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

eJuice Companies – img30522

by

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

Candy – img31960

by

The e-Cigarette (e-cig) industry fervently claims to target only adult and primarily established smokers. As much as e-cig companies deny it, the plethora of vape juices in alcoholic or sweetened flavors and sugary names serve to make these products appealing to children and teenagers who are curious to experiment with tobacco products and are taken in by false notions of the “safe nature” of e-cigs.

Appealing to an almost universal love for candy and sweets, e-cigs and ejuice are available in a number of childhood favorite flavors including bubble gum, gummys, Bazzoka, Kool-Aid, sweet tarts, cotton candy, gum balls, Swedish fish and cheerios. The images used in the ads are heavily borrowed from the food industry. Some e-cig companies (Mister Vapor) and vapor stores (Good Clean Vaoes) also use fairytale and anime characters to entice kids and teenagers to buy their products.

The sweet flavored additives in the vape juice help mask the bitterness of tobacco and the nicotine serves to addict teens. In addition to standard flavors, customers at retail “boutique” vape stores can enjoy the novel experience of working with a vapologist to create unique flavors by mixing any number of essences at a variety of nicotine strengths for a personalized vape. Some retail vape bars also have a “tasting bar” much like restaurants where consumers can try a variety of flavors.

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. A recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 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-cigs1.

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. 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

Fruits – img31603

by

The e-Cigarette (e-cig) industry zealously claims to target only adults and established smokers. As much as e-cig companies deny it, the plethora of vape juices in alcoholic or sweetened flavors and sugary names serve to make these products appealing to children and teenagers who are curious to experiment with tobacco products and are taken in by false notions of the “safe nature” of e-cigs.

E-cigs and ejuice are available in a number of fruit flavors including banana, watermelon, pineapple, and grape. In addition to these flavors, many ejuices are available in exotic flavors such as passion fruit, mango and lychee as well as in a cocktail of fruit flavors. The fruit flavored additives in the vape juice help mask the bitterness of tobacco and the nicotine serves to addict teens. Advertisements for fruit flavored e-cigs and ejuices include bright backgrounds that seek to draw all the attention to the fruits. Images of fruits slicing through water much helps convey a sense of freshness and purity to the product. If not for the brand name or the image of ejuice bottle by the side of the fruit, it would be easy to mistake many of the ads under this theme for ads by the food industry.

Flavored cigarettes and flavored tobacco have long been held to be gateway product for children and teens. There is now growing concern that the use of flavored e-cigs by youth could lead to them experimenting with regular cigarettes. A recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 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-cigs1.

With the Federal Drug Administration proposing 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. Some public health advocates are calling flavored e-cigs and vape juices the “Trojan horse” of nicotine addiction.

1. 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

Alcohol – img32555

by

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 of alcoholic flavors including beer, pina colada, mojito, margarita, brandy, whiskey, gin & tonic, amaretto, wine cigar, and sangria. By advertising alcoholic flavored e-cigs and vapor juices, e-cig manufacturers are appealing to teenager to break two adult taboos at once — alcohol and smoking — in a single activity.

Flavored cigarettes and flavored tobacco have long been held as a gateway product for children and teens. There is now 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 flavored additives, advocates fear that flavored e-cigs will serve to entice a new generation of kids to become addicted to nicotine based products. Some public health advocates are calling flavored e-cigs the “Trojan horse” of nicotine addiction.

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-ecigarette-use.html

Knock-Offs – img33766

by

Brands strive for brand loyalty as it often involves consumers being repeat purchasers of the brand’s products and in many cases, identifying with the interests of the brand. Most major retail companies have built brand loyalty over decades. Electronic cigarette (e-cig) manufacturers understanding the importance of brand loyalty in consumer purchasing habits are trying to reap the goodwill of these companies by designing knock-off products.

A large portion of these imitations are flavor knockoffs, or flavors with branding that strongly resembles or imitates an existing brand. Take “Starbuzz Tobacco”, a play on words of Starbucks Coffee, with a logo that shares the same concentric circles and color scheme. Starbucks is a popular brand amongst teenagers, especially teenaged girls, so this attempt to mimic the Starbucks brand is also an attempt to capture that image for the e-cig product as a hip product. Another example is Pink Spot Flavor’s Raging Bull flavors, which uses the same bull outline as the one in the Red Bull energy drink logo, and also adopts a very similar color scheme. The imitations continue beyond brand associations and encompass product associations – there are many instances of e-cig companies simply using the logo of a different brand in its own packaging. Many Juicy Fruit flavor iterations of various e-cig companies directly place the actual Juicy Fruit candy logo on their packaging, which, suffice to say, is massively appealing to children. There are also several variations of popular breakfast cereal flavored e-cigs including Lucky Charms.

The established brand name companies are beginning to take note. General Mills Inc., Girl Scouts of the USA, and Tootsie Roll Industries Inc. are among the brands that have started firing off cease-and-desist letters to makers of the flavored nicotine liquids used in e-cigs.1 With sales of e-cigs booming, e-cig companies can no longer fly under the radar after ripping off a large corporations trademark.

1. Candy, Snack Companies Want Names Off E-Cigs. Retrieved from http://blogs.findlaw.com/free_enterprise/2014/05/candy-snack-companies-want-names-off-e-cigs.html

Flavor Varieties – img18642

by

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

eJuice Companies – img30523

by

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

Candy – img31961

by

The e-Cigarette (e-cig) industry fervently claims to target only adult and primarily established smokers. As much as e-cig companies deny it, the plethora of vape juices in alcoholic or sweetened flavors and sugary names serve to make these products appealing to children and teenagers who are curious to experiment with tobacco products and are taken in by false notions of the “safe nature” of e-cigs.

Appealing to an almost universal love for candy and sweets, e-cigs and ejuice are available in a number of childhood favorite flavors including bubble gum, gummys, Bazzoka, Kool-Aid, sweet tarts, cotton candy, gum balls, Swedish fish and cheerios. The images used in the ads are heavily borrowed from the food industry. Some e-cig companies (Mister Vapor) and vapor stores (Good Clean Vaoes) also use fairytale and anime characters to entice kids and teenagers to buy their products.

The sweet flavored additives in the vape juice help mask the bitterness of tobacco and the nicotine serves to addict teens. In addition to standard flavors, customers at retail “boutique” vape stores can enjoy the novel experience of working with a vapologist to create unique flavors by mixing any number of essences at a variety of nicotine strengths for a personalized vape. Some retail vape bars also have a “tasting bar” much like restaurants where consumers can try a variety of flavors.

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. A recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 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-cigs1.

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. 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

Fruits – img31604

by

The e-Cigarette (e-cig) industry zealously claims to target only adults and established smokers. As much as e-cig companies deny it, the plethora of vape juices in alcoholic or sweetened flavors and sugary names serve to make these products appealing to children and teenagers who are curious to experiment with tobacco products and are taken in by false notions of the “safe nature” of e-cigs.

E-cigs and ejuice are available in a number of fruit flavors including banana, watermelon, pineapple, and grape. In addition to these flavors, many ejuices are available in exotic flavors such as passion fruit, mango and lychee as well as in a cocktail of fruit flavors. The fruit flavored additives in the vape juice help mask the bitterness of tobacco and the nicotine serves to addict teens. Advertisements for fruit flavored e-cigs and ejuices include bright backgrounds that seek to draw all the attention to the fruits. Images of fruits slicing through water much helps convey a sense of freshness and purity to the product. If not for the brand name or the image of ejuice bottle by the side of the fruit, it would be easy to mistake many of the ads under this theme for ads by the food industry.

Flavored cigarettes and flavored tobacco have long been held to be gateway product for children and teens. There is now growing concern that the use of flavored e-cigs by youth could lead to them experimenting with regular cigarettes. A recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 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-cigs1.

With the Federal Drug Administration proposing 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. Some public health advocates are calling flavored e-cigs and vape juices the “Trojan horse” of nicotine addiction.

1. 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

Alcohol – img32556

by

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 of alcoholic flavors including beer, pina colada, mojito, margarita, brandy, whiskey, gin & tonic, amaretto, wine cigar, and sangria. By advertising alcoholic flavored e-cigs and vapor juices, e-cig manufacturers are appealing to teenager to break two adult taboos at once — alcohol and smoking — in a single activity.

Flavored cigarettes and flavored tobacco have long been held as a gateway product for children and teens. There is now 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 flavored additives, advocates fear that flavored e-cigs will serve to entice a new generation of kids to become addicted to nicotine based products. Some public health advocates are calling flavored e-cigs the “Trojan horse” of nicotine addiction.

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-ecigarette-use.html

Knock-Offs – img33767

by

Brands strive for brand loyalty as it often involves consumers being repeat purchasers of the brand’s products and in many cases, identifying with the interests of the brand. Most major retail companies have built brand loyalty over decades. Electronic cigarette (e-cig) manufacturers understanding the importance of brand loyalty in consumer purchasing habits are trying to reap the goodwill of these companies by designing knock-off products.

A large portion of these imitations are flavor knockoffs, or flavors with branding that strongly resembles or imitates an existing brand. Take “Starbuzz Tobacco”, a play on words of Starbucks Coffee, with a logo that shares the same concentric circles and color scheme. Starbucks is a popular brand amongst teenagers, especially teenaged girls, so this attempt to mimic the Starbucks brand is also an attempt to capture that image for the e-cig product as a hip product. Another example is Pink Spot Flavor’s Raging Bull flavors, which uses the same bull outline as the one in the Red Bull energy drink logo, and also adopts a very similar color scheme. The imitations continue beyond brand associations and encompass product associations – there are many instances of e-cig companies simply using the logo of a different brand in its own packaging. Many Juicy Fruit flavor iterations of various e-cig companies directly place the actual Juicy Fruit candy logo on their packaging, which, suffice to say, is massively appealing to children. There are also several variations of popular breakfast cereal flavored e-cigs including Lucky Charms.

The established brand name companies are beginning to take note. General Mills Inc., Girl Scouts of the USA, and Tootsie Roll Industries Inc. are among the brands that have started firing off cease-and-desist letters to makers of the flavored nicotine liquids used in e-cigs.1 With sales of e-cigs booming, e-cig companies can no longer fly under the radar after ripping off a large corporations trademark.

1. Candy, Snack Companies Want Names Off E-Cigs. Retrieved from http://blogs.findlaw.com/free_enterprise/2014/05/candy-snack-companies-want-names-off-e-cigs.html

Flavor Varieties – img25131

by

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

eJuice Companies – img30524

by

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

Candy – img31962

by

The e-Cigarette (e-cig) industry fervently claims to target only adult and primarily established smokers. As much as e-cig companies deny it, the plethora of vape juices in alcoholic or sweetened flavors and sugary names serve to make these products appealing to children and teenagers who are curious to experiment with tobacco products and are taken in by false notions of the “safe nature” of e-cigs.

Appealing to an almost universal love for candy and sweets, e-cigs and ejuice are available in a number of childhood favorite flavors including bubble gum, gummys, Bazzoka, Kool-Aid, sweet tarts, cotton candy, gum balls, Swedish fish and cheerios. The images used in the ads are heavily borrowed from the food industry. Some e-cig companies (Mister Vapor) and vapor stores (Good Clean Vaoes) also use fairytale and anime characters to entice kids and teenagers to buy their products.

The sweet flavored additives in the vape juice help mask the bitterness of tobacco and the nicotine serves to addict teens. In addition to standard flavors, customers at retail “boutique” vape stores can enjoy the novel experience of working with a vapologist to create unique flavors by mixing any number of essences at a variety of nicotine strengths for a personalized vape. Some retail vape bars also have a “tasting bar” much like restaurants where consumers can try a variety of flavors.

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. A recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 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-cigs1.

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. 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

Fruits – img31605

by

The e-Cigarette (e-cig) industry zealously claims to target only adults and established smokers. As much as e-cig companies deny it, the plethora of vape juices in alcoholic or sweetened flavors and sugary names serve to make these products appealing to children and teenagers who are curious to experiment with tobacco products and are taken in by false notions of the “safe nature” of e-cigs.

E-cigs and ejuice are available in a number of fruit flavors including banana, watermelon, pineapple, and grape. In addition to these flavors, many ejuices are available in exotic flavors such as passion fruit, mango and lychee as well as in a cocktail of fruit flavors. The fruit flavored additives in the vape juice help mask the bitterness of tobacco and the nicotine serves to addict teens. Advertisements for fruit flavored e-cigs and ejuices include bright backgrounds that seek to draw all the attention to the fruits. Images of fruits slicing through water much helps convey a sense of freshness and purity to the product. If not for the brand name or the image of ejuice bottle by the side of the fruit, it would be easy to mistake many of the ads under this theme for ads by the food industry.

Flavored cigarettes and flavored tobacco have long been held to be gateway product for children and teens. There is now growing concern that the use of flavored e-cigs by youth could lead to them experimenting with regular cigarettes. A recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 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-cigs1.

With the Federal Drug Administration proposing 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. Some public health advocates are calling flavored e-cigs and vape juices the “Trojan horse” of nicotine addiction.

1. 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

Alcohol – img32557

by

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 of alcoholic flavors including beer, pina colada, mojito, margarita, brandy, whiskey, gin & tonic, amaretto, wine cigar, and sangria. By advertising alcoholic flavored e-cigs and vapor juices, e-cig manufacturers are appealing to teenager to break two adult taboos at once — alcohol and smoking — in a single activity.

Flavored cigarettes and flavored tobacco have long been held as a gateway product for children and teens. There is now 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 flavored additives, advocates fear that flavored e-cigs will serve to entice a new generation of kids to become addicted to nicotine based products. Some public health advocates are calling flavored e-cigs the “Trojan horse” of nicotine addiction.

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-ecigarette-use.html

Knock-Offs – img33768

by

Brands strive for brand loyalty as it often involves consumers being repeat purchasers of the brand’s products and in many cases, identifying with the interests of the brand. Most major retail companies have built brand loyalty over decades. Electronic cigarette (e-cig) manufacturers understanding the importance of brand loyalty in consumer purchasing habits are trying to reap the goodwill of these companies by designing knock-off products.

A large portion of these imitations are flavor knockoffs, or flavors with branding that strongly resembles or imitates an existing brand. Take “Starbuzz Tobacco”, a play on words of Starbucks Coffee, with a logo that shares the same concentric circles and color scheme. Starbucks is a popular brand amongst teenagers, especially teenaged girls, so this attempt to mimic the Starbucks brand is also an attempt to capture that image for the e-cig product as a hip product. Another example is Pink Spot Flavor’s Raging Bull flavors, which uses the same bull outline as the one in the Red Bull energy drink logo, and also adopts a very similar color scheme. The imitations continue beyond brand associations and encompass product associations – there are many instances of e-cig companies simply using the logo of a different brand in its own packaging. Many Juicy Fruit flavor iterations of various e-cig companies directly place the actual Juicy Fruit candy logo on their packaging, which, suffice to say, is massively appealing to children. There are also several variations of popular breakfast cereal flavored e-cigs including Lucky Charms.

The established brand name companies are beginning to take note. General Mills Inc., Girl Scouts of the USA, and Tootsie Roll Industries Inc. are among the brands that have started firing off cease-and-desist letters to makers of the flavored nicotine liquids used in e-cigs.1 With sales of e-cigs booming, e-cig companies can no longer fly under the radar after ripping off a large corporations trademark.

1. Candy, Snack Companies Want Names Off E-Cigs. Retrieved from http://blogs.findlaw.com/free_enterprise/2014/05/candy-snack-companies-want-names-off-e-cigs.html

Flavor Varieties – img18659

by

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

eJuice Companies – img30525

by

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

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The e-Cigarette (e-cig) industry fervently claims to target only adult and primarily established smokers. As much as e-cig companies deny it, the plethora of vape juices in alcoholic or sweetened flavors and sugary names serve to make these products appealing to children and teenagers who are curious to experiment with tobacco products and are taken in by false notions of the “safe nature” of e-cigs.

Appealing to an almost universal love for candy and sweets, e-cigs and ejuice are available in a number of childhood favorite flavors including bubble gum, gummys, Bazzoka, Kool-Aid, sweet tarts, cotton candy, gum balls, Swedish fish and cheerios. The images used in the ads are heavily borrowed from the food industry. Some e-cig companies (Mister Vapor) and vapor stores (Good Clean Vaoes) also use fairytale and anime characters to entice kids and teenagers to buy their products.

The sweet flavored additives in the vape juice help mask the bitterness of tobacco and the nicotine serves to addict teens. In addition to standard flavors, customers at retail “boutique” vape stores can enjoy the novel experience of working with a vapologist to create unique flavors by mixing any number of essences at a variety of nicotine strengths for a personalized vape. Some retail vape bars also have a “tasting bar” much like restaurants where consumers can try a variety of flavors.

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. A recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 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-cigs1.

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. 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

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The e-Cigarette (e-cig) industry zealously claims to target only adults and established smokers. As much as e-cig companies deny it, the plethora of vape juices in alcoholic or sweetened flavors and sugary names serve to make these products appealing to children and teenagers who are curious to experiment with tobacco products and are taken in by false notions of the “safe nature” of e-cigs.

E-cigs and ejuice are available in a number of fruit flavors including banana, watermelon, pineapple, and grape. In addition to these flavors, many ejuices are available in exotic flavors such as passion fruit, mango and lychee as well as in a cocktail of fruit flavors. The fruit flavored additives in the vape juice help mask the bitterness of tobacco and the nicotine serves to addict teens. Advertisements for fruit flavored e-cigs and ejuices include bright backgrounds that seek to draw all the attention to the fruits. Images of fruits slicing through water much helps convey a sense of freshness and purity to the product. If not for the brand name or the image of ejuice bottle by the side of the fruit, it would be easy to mistake many of the ads under this theme for ads by the food industry.

Flavored cigarettes and flavored tobacco have long been held to be gateway product for children and teens. There is now growing concern that the use of flavored e-cigs by youth could lead to them experimenting with regular cigarettes. A recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 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-cigs1.

With the Federal Drug Administration proposing 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. Some public health advocates are calling flavored e-cigs and vape juices the “Trojan horse” of nicotine addiction.

1. 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