Re: E-cigarettes and the marketing push that surprised everyone
As with all issues related to tobacco use, regulation and products, the real barometer of the potential impact of any initiative is tobacco industry response. In the case of e-cigarettes, the industry is scrambling to get on board.Lorillard's purchase of Blu ECigs in 2012 has been followed by Altria’s launch of MarkTen e-cigarettes[1] and by Imperial Tobacco’s recent agreement to buy the e-cigarette manufacturer Dragonite International.[2]
In July this year, British American Tobacco (BAT) launched its own brand Vype, which, if e-cigarettes are approved as a smoking cessation treatment in the UK, would ironically mean that the company could profit from public funding.[3]
This shift may be indicative of industry recognition that a “Kodak moment” is imminent, i.e. the danger of being left behind by rapid technological innovation.[4] The fear, and the more likely scenario however, is that BAT and competitor corporations intend to take advantage of marketing opportunities related to e-cigarettes. A recent Lancet Oncology editorial notes that e-cigarettes are not constrained by advertising and promotional restrictions on conventional cigarettes, and are “being marketed aggressively as lifestyle-choice consumables” through a range of media including high-profile sponsorship of Indy Car racing and UK football teams.[5]
Such sponsorship strategies combined with product flavourings that include bubblegum, chocolate and popcorn, and broad use of social marketing make it hard to disagree with the editorial’s assertion that e-cigarettes are targeting young potential consumers. Nicotine is a highly addictive drug, however delivered, and adolescents who take up e-cigarettes run a very real risk of long-term addiction.
The related concern, as pointed out in other responses, is that e-cigarettes will renormalise smoking, thereby undermining decades of progress achieved by the tobacco control community to lower smoking rates thought a combination of legislation, tax increases and education. The greatest beneficiary of such an outcome will undoubtedly be the tobacco industry.
1. Robehmed N. E-cigarette Sales Surpass $1 Billion As Big Tobacco Moves In. Forbes 17 Sep. 2103 http://tiny.cc/mc5a4w.
2. Gustafsson K. Imperial Tobacco Agrees to Acquire Dragonite’s E-Cigarette Unit. Bloomberg 2 Sep 2013 http://tiny.cc/cd5a4w.
3. Manning S. British American Tobacco enters electronic cigarette market in Britain with the 'Vype'. Independent 29 Jul 2013 http://tiny.cc/sd5a4w.
Rapid Response:
Re: E-cigarettes and the marketing push that surprised everyone
As with all issues related to tobacco use, regulation and products, the real barometer of the potential impact of any initiative is tobacco industry response. In the case of e-cigarettes, the industry is scrambling to get on board.Lorillard's purchase of Blu ECigs in 2012 has been followed by Altria’s launch of MarkTen e-cigarettes[1] and by Imperial Tobacco’s recent agreement to buy the e-cigarette manufacturer Dragonite International.[2]
In July this year, British American Tobacco (BAT) launched its own brand Vype, which, if e-cigarettes are approved as a smoking cessation treatment in the UK, would ironically mean that the company could profit from public funding.[3]
This shift may be indicative of industry recognition that a “Kodak moment” is imminent, i.e. the danger of being left behind by rapid technological innovation.[4] The fear, and the more likely scenario however, is that BAT and competitor corporations intend to take advantage of marketing opportunities related to e-cigarettes. A recent Lancet Oncology editorial notes that e-cigarettes are not constrained by advertising and promotional restrictions on conventional cigarettes, and are “being marketed aggressively as lifestyle-choice consumables” through a range of media including high-profile sponsorship of Indy Car racing and UK football teams.[5]
Such sponsorship strategies combined with product flavourings that include bubblegum, chocolate and popcorn, and broad use of social marketing make it hard to disagree with the editorial’s assertion that e-cigarettes are targeting young potential consumers. Nicotine is a highly addictive drug, however delivered, and adolescents who take up e-cigarettes run a very real risk of long-term addiction.
The related concern, as pointed out in other responses, is that e-cigarettes will renormalise smoking, thereby undermining decades of progress achieved by the tobacco control community to lower smoking rates thought a combination of legislation, tax increases and education. The greatest beneficiary of such an outcome will undoubtedly be the tobacco industry.
1. Robehmed N. E-cigarette Sales Surpass $1 Billion As Big Tobacco Moves In. Forbes 17 Sep. 2103 http://tiny.cc/mc5a4w.
2. Gustafsson K. Imperial Tobacco Agrees to Acquire Dragonite’s E-Cigarette Unit. Bloomberg 2 Sep 2013 http://tiny.cc/cd5a4w.
3. Manning S. British American Tobacco enters electronic cigarette market in Britain with the 'Vype'. Independent 29 Jul 2013 http://tiny.cc/sd5a4w.
4. Kodak moment. Economist 28 Sep 2013 http://tiny.cc/he5a4w.
5. Time for e-cigarette regulation.Lancet Oncology 2013;14(11):1027 http://tiny.cc/ju5a4w .
Competing interests: No competing interests