ECA - On Good Morning America

[Surf Monkey]

I am just so sick and tired of the notion that kids will like them because of the flavors. What a bunch of BS! Where is a kid getting the money to use PV's? When does anyone talk about parental supervision? Just regulate PV's like they do analogs. You can't purchase if you are under 18. If you are over 18, you are old enough to decide for yourself.

If you're going to talk about flavorings, the argument should have nothing to do with price, age or even analogues.

The argument is simple:

Flavors aren't just for kids. Flavors are for everyone. Example: yogurt. Is yogurt strictly marketed to children because it comes in various flavors? Of course not. Do adults only like things that have no flavor? Of course not. Flavoring in and of itself has absolutely NOTHING to do with marketing to children. Practically everything we consume includes flavoring. When products are marketed to children, there are MANY more factors involved than flavor. The existence of flavoring alone proves nothing.

[hanover fist]

I like the comment at the end about vapers continuing to use both. I mean its not like parts can be hard to get or anything<sic>.

Let them think that, they will still think they’re getting the tax money there so scared of losing

[Flitzanu]

semantics aside, it still just astounds me how the FDA reps continue to say "we just don't know if it's safe or not"

really? but you know real cigs aren't safe...

sigh.

[BARENETTED]

Surf - for once and one time only - I agree with everything you said.

[Surf Monkey]

semantics aside, it still just astounds me how the FDA reps continue to say "we just don't know if it's safe or not"

really? but you know real cigs aren't safe...

sigh.

Yes, but the hypocrisy runs deeper than that. Look at how many herbal supplements are allowed to be sold by the FDA, even though no medical evidence exists to support their benefits or expose their dangers. There is a core contradiction in the FDA's policy and it's only going to be exacerbated by the new tobacco legislation.

[Krakkan]

Well if the FDA officially banned E-cigs could they be sued for not banning cigarettes in general when it comes under there control if their reasoning is safety concerns?

[Surf Monkey]

Well if the FDA officially banned E-cigs could they be sued for not banning cigarettes in general when it comes under there control if their reasoning is safety concerns?

I'm not a lawyer, so I can't say for sure, but I do think that forcing the FDA to sanction a clearly harmful and arguably deadly product when their core mandate is to protect the public from harmful and deadly substances opens them up to a myriad of legal challenges. It's going to ugly regardless of where e-cigarettes fit into the picture. In fact, I think e-cigarettes are going to be the least of the FDA's problems.

[Kate51]

Geez, that wasn't bad, but I hate when they end on the negative all the time!
Would you say that Adults "shouldn't" like chocolate, or Cafe`Au Lait, or Cherry? Why do they always push that into "kid" usage all the time. Here we go with the Children, again. They must think that people should also not have any of those, since we can't watch them properly? Oh, Boy, can you see where this can-o-worms could lead!!! We all want those future Tax-Payers to live Long and Prosper!!

[Surf Monkey]

That's probably my biggest issue with the anti-smoking lobby. Flavors = for kids. Idiotic. Has anyone been to a Saphora lately? There's a HUGE market for cosmetics marketed to adults with all kinds of flavors. Has anyone looked at bottled water these days? Guess what? FLAVORS.

This just shows how badly the public schools are doing when it comes to educating people on media issues. As a graphic artist, I have a deep understanding of the language of marketing, but this sort of thing should be common knowledge to anyone living in a media saturated environment. An ad campaign includes WAY more than flavorings. It's about color choices, product placement, graphic design approach, shelf positioning and on and on and on. To focus on one element (flavors) is to promote ignorance and misinformation by using a rhetorical and empty talking point designed to appeal to people who know nothing about the subject.

Maybe flavors should be outlawed for people over a certain age. "Okay, kids. You can have all kinds of flavors... until you're 21. Then you can drink alcohol and smoke, but only unflavored vodka and Drum tobacco. Your food will consist of flavorless cardboard and glasses of tap water."

[808kicks901hits]

That's probably my biggest issue with the anti-smoking lobby. Flavors = for kids. Idiotic. Has anyone been to a Saphora lately? There's a HUGE market for cosmetics marketed to adults with all kinds of flavors. Has anyone looked at bottled water these days? Guess what? FLAVORS.

This just shows how badly the public schools are doing when it comes to educating people on media issues. As a graphic artist, I have a deep understanding of the language of marketing, but this sort of thing should be common knowledge to anyone living in a media saturated environment. An ad campaign includes WAY more than flavorings. It's about color choices, product placement, graphic design approach, shelf positioning and on and on and on. To focus on one element (flavors) is to promote ignorance and misinformation by using a rhetorical and empty talking point designed to appeal to people who know nothing about the subject.

Maybe flavors should be outlawed for people over a certain age. "Okay, kids. You can have all kinds of flavors... until you're 21. Then you can drink alcohol and smoke, but only unflavored vodka and Drum tobacco. Your food will consist of flavorless cardboard and glasses of tap water."

I find Drum to be quite flavorful. Maybe I'm just getting old. lol. But honestly I can see where flavors like cola and red bull would really seem to be marketed towards kids. But I agree with you. I've noticed that adults buy just as much of this stuff as kids do. It's much more probable that someone of age will be willing to buy a pack of cigs for someone not of age than to get online and order them an electronic cigarette. Younger folks are not interested in e-cigs anyway. Smoking is cool. A healthy alturnative to smoking? That's not hardcore.