Blu ecig buyout--boycott??

[sailorman]

Right off the top of my head, I'd say "who cares who owns Blu?" I think the "industry advocate" hypothesis is solid... They can't kill vaping by buying up companies (extremely low barrier to entry), and they won't want regulation that zeroes their investment.

What is the evidence that BT wants to kill vaping? And by evidence, I mean evidence, not that thing you were about to say.

They don't have to kill vaping and regulation won't zero their investment, but it would zero investments that don't have the clout. I already wrote a list of things they could advocate that would benefit only the large companies and kill off all the small companies. They don't want to kill off vaping. They're more inclined to kill off competition and they don't need to buy up companies to do it. They can do it by pushing regulation only the largest companies could comply with. The evidence that they attempt to kill competition is their own behavior during the SCHIP taxation hearings.

 

[Harplayr]

while i agree with your comment i myself have had people that think that my simple boxmod was actually a drug pipe also and had to disassemble it just to prove that it wasn't!!!

I've been pulled over 2 times while vaping and driving. The cops even told me it looked like I was doing drugs. Frankly I find it silly to think no one could ever mistake pv's for some type of drug paraphenlia.

Thank you for backing up my point.
I certainly don’t mean to offend anybody, or have a flame war, but I do feel I need to be honest when I voice my opinions.

I don’t know if it’s a regional thing, cultural or age related, but to be honest before being exposed to the world of vaping and spending time here, I would have certainly mistaken some of the mods and larger PV’s to be what you indicated others have mistaken them for.

For myself, I have to stick with what makes me comfortable. I live in an extremely conservative part of the country. I’m NOT militant, don’t want to make a statement or fight the good fight to change others. I just want to vape undisturbed when the urge strikes. If that means pulling out an inferior cig-lookalike out of my pocket instead of my PV of choice occasionally…so be it. For those that feel comfortable doing otherwise…all the more power to them.

There’s room for disagreement on comfort level, style, and PV’s of your choice. I’m not advocating others emulate what I do, nor do I appreciate it when somebody else tells me I must be more militant about my vaping or that I’m wrong for feeling the way I do.

 

[sailorman]

Scale: Lorillard spent $135m on Blu, which was 60% of the last quarter's profit. That reads to me like a serious bet on ecigarettes as a profitable and growing business in itself, and does not look like some defensive effort to squash a competitor. Time will tell, though.

No, they're not trying to squash a competitor. Their attitude is since they couldn't beat e-cigs during the FDA fight, they might as well join them. We'll see what their lobbyists do when the FDA starts proposing restrictions. My bet is that if proposals come out that kill small companies and allow the big ones to operate with less competition, like a ban on internet sales or sealed cartridges, you won't hear a peep from them. But if proposals come down that threaten their market, they'll scream bloody murder.

 

[zoiDman]

...

For myself, I have to stick with what makes me comfortable. ...

There's nothing wrong with that.

 

[wv2win]

The point is that I DO have a clue to what these devices are, but most people don’t.

Prior to my taking up vaping and learning what these “strange looking” devices are if I saw somebody taking a hit off of one, my first reaction would have been anything BUT an e-cig and that he's doing something drug related.

I’m sorry if that reality bothers you, but it is a reality none the less.
That is why in many situations where I am publically vaping, I choose to use a “cigarette looking” PV. They don’t raise an eyebrow, where other PV’s might.

Until vaping becomes more mainstream, that is not going to change. Maybe with BT getting on board, it will accelarate the general public knowledge of what we're vaping and what the various PV's look like.

Look, you have been vaping for how long? a month, maybe. Many of us have been vaping for 2, 3+ years and have vaped every size, shape, color PV under the sun and very openly. Don't try to scare people with this BS of what your imagination thinks a PV might look like. It's this mentality that those who want to ban vaping are hoping to instill in the general public.

I am in and out of courthouses every week. I have vaped using my Darwin, Prodigy, box mod and GLV with more cops and deputies than you have ever come in contact with. When I tell them about posts like yours, they just laugh. I have also given more information on which PV's to buy to more law enforcement personnel than any other sub-group. So don't let your paranoia get the better of you or scare new members to ECF. We need people to vape openly and respectfully and not act like they are doing something wrong. If people who vape go around telling the uninformed that all models but cigarette sized ones look like something illegal, then that is the perception that is being given to the public in general. Those who want to ban vaping love vapers who think like this. You are just feeding the negative steriotype.

 

[stanpontiere]

We are well past the stage where vaping can be banned by the Feds. Where was BT? They were in the peanut gallery with BP, cheering on the FDA to regulate e-cigs like drugs. Now that the coast is clear, they want a piece of the action. But they're not friends of vaping in general. They don't want to see it cut into their cigarette sales. They're just hedging their bets.

Don't think for one minute that they will use their clout in any other way than to throw as much of the industry as they can under the bus, without risking their own hides. If laws are proposed that all e-cigs look like cigarettes, they'll be for it. If laws are proposed that e-cigs can't be sold online, they'll back them. If only licensed tobacco dealers can sell PVs or juice, they'll be cheering them on. If juice is so restricted that the only mfg. that can meet the regs is JC, they won't lift a finger. In fact, their lobbyists will undoubtedly be right there, handing their own customized bills to your friendly representative in Congress. They did it during the SCHIP tax negotiations when they set the tax on RYO tobacco, they'll do it again.

This is BT we're dealing with here. They are not our friends. If they had their wish, e-cigs would vanish tomorrow, never to be seen again. But they can't do that, so they're reluctantly jumping on board. They will do whatever they can to see that e-cigs are treated exactly like cigarettes, including equal tax rates and inclusion in smoking bans. They do not want to see e-cigs, even their own brands, take market share away from their tobacco cash cow. They are wolves in sheeps clothing and too many vapers seem too willing to go along to their own slaughter.

Bravo, you have hit the nail on the head. The only reason they are on the bandwagon is to take control of the e-cig industry so that it does not hurt their bottom line. However, they are simply wolves in wolves clothing and they will use their lobby powers to make sure that the only people that can meet e-juice regulations are themselves. DIY may be our only option to keep the juice cost affordable and most people are not going to do this. So due to the high cost of juice, many may revert back to Death by Cigarette.

 

[wv2win]

Yeah, and I've had cops pull me over because they said I looked like someone on the wanted list, and because they said they thought my tag light was out, and any other cockamamie story they can come up with to cover for the fact that they wanted to pull me over. Newsflash!! Cops lie about why they pull you over.

That is very true. Cops will hassle someone, just to hassle them. The ones I have talked with say they all know what PV's are and are not. You are more inclined to be hassled because someone thinks you are smoking where you are not allowed with one like the Blu that looks like the real thing.

 

[hallucinoJEN]

The point is that I DO have a clue to what these devices are, but most people don’t.

Prior to my taking up vaping and learning what these “strange looking” devices are if I saw somebody taking a hit off of one, my first reaction would have been anything BUT an e-cig and that he's doing something drug related.

I’m sorry if that reality bothers you, but it is a reality none the less.
That is why in many situations where I am publically vaping, I choose to use a “cigarette looking” PV. They don’t raise an eyebrow, where other PV’s might.

Until vaping becomes more mainstream, that is not going to change. Maybe with BT getting on board, it will accelarate the general public knowledge of what we're vaping and what the various PV's look like.

I do agree that some of the mods do look like paraphenalia, but it does have to look somewhat different, so that the public does not attribute e-cigs to regular analogs. That's why using an e-cig with a blue LED and batts in different colors is a good idea to use in public.

Although I do like the idea of BT introducing vaping into the mainstream, I am afraid their reputation will taint the value of e-cigs.

The public have been bombarded with so much anti-tobacco publicity (yes, it is good to tell us that cigs are bad for us, but), some people have become prejudiced against anyone who loves nicotine.

I had a recent experience where I went to the movies to see "The Hunger Games," and I pulled out my KR808d-1 with a blue LED to stealth vape. I sat all the way in the back and I was happily stealth vaping while covering the light with my hand. The guy behind me asked me if I would stop smoking. I explained that I was not smoking, and he said, "I know, but the smoke is bothering me." I stopped vaping for a long time, and only started vaping again when the movie drew to a close. But, this experience has taught me that there are people out there who are aware of e-cigs, but they have been "brainwashed" to the point where they believe that anything that comes out of someone's mouth is dangerous.

It's a catch-22. It's good, because it can introduce vaping to smokers and save lives as well as inform the public, but the reputation of BT is such that no one trusts them anymore. And, why would they (or we, for that matter)? They have been telling nothing but lies for years.

 

[elfstone]

anything that comes out of someone's mouth is dangerous

That's quite true, though: it's either germs or bad ideas in a majority of cases.

 

[TommyO]

I already don't buy Blu's although it was the first "real" ecig I had and it managed to get me off analogs... I got a kGo as soon as I could though.

 

[hallucinoJEN]

That's quite true, though: it's either germs or bad ideas in a majority of cases.

Yes, that is VERY true! hahaha!

 

[Maestro]

Personally, I'm not too worried about the tobacco companies. They just want to make money and they'll be just as happy making it with e-cigs as they are with tobacco. True, they're liable to push the smaller guys out of the market, but that's going on all the time with everything. If BT doesn't do it, someone else will eventually. Walmart? Amazon? Who knows?

The one you have to watch is the government. They make an exorbitant amount of money on tobacco and they're going to have to figure out a way to get it from e-cigs. The only way I can see it happening is to wring their hands over "safety" and mandate pre-filled, tamper-proof cartridges from approved vendors only. But we'd still have a huge underground market.

 

[theywillnotsing]

It seems bad, but I hope for the best. Always have had a positive outlook on life.

Personally, I'm not too worried about the tobacco companies. They just want to make money and they'll be just as happy making it with e-cigs as they are with tobacco.

This. As long as BT approaches the acquisition like this, then we've got nothing to fear really. If they view it as a way to control and hurt the industry to improve the tobacco industry, then that's what's going to cause problems.

 

[asha23]

I think it's a rather bad precident. It would be great if tobacco companies could .... out of vaping. I see them as two, very different things. The fact that Blu call their products cigarettes at all is rather behind the times.

I do think that vaping is vaping and smoking is smoking. The more blurred these two terms get, it's more likely that people will completely misunderstand the differences.

I have nothing against a free market and if Cigarette companies see that there is a future in vaping, then they have the right to buy and sell whichever company they wish... I do worry that smaller companies will be bought out and shut down. Much like oil companies buying out any patents for alternative fuel sources then sitting on them. This isn't progress.

IE. if you are a small, but successful vendor, making $100,000 a year from selling your wares and a big company offers you $5,000,000 for the company. You'd have to be an idiot to turn down this offer. This is mildly worrying as most people would take the offer.

I for one don't want to see PV's and vaping in the hands of tobacco companies. Having said that, it's pretty much inevitable as these companies will always want to control their interests. As time goes on, they are losing more and more of their customers to vaping (and this will increase exponentially as more smokers become aware of vaping as an alternative) - having said this. The more cig-alike devices out there, the more like smoking these companies will try and make e-cigs (not PV's) - After all, cigarette companies want to keep people smoking, not vaping. Their core business is cigarettes. Everything they do (And any company they buy) is inevitably to keep people addicted to their core industry - Cigarettes. No cigarette company wants to see people quit smoking.

Time will tell how this affects Blu. (Already a sub-par, expensive product) - I'd say that this company probably won't exist in a year's time. BT will want this entry point to vaping nullified as quickly as possible so that their core revenues are protected. The figures involved (for them) are minimal. So why not make back your investment, then shut the company down?

I don't think this buyout is in any way altruistic. It's just a cigarette company protecting their core interests.

 

[AlmightyGod]

They just want to make money and they'll be just as happy making it with e-cigs as they are with tobacco.

This is why they bought Blu. Profits.

The profit margin on ecigs & the supplies are huge!
Profit margins on cigarettes...not even close.

Anyone who thinks this is the first tobacco company with a financial interest in ecigs has no knowledge of what's going on behind closed doors. There have been BT/ecig partnerships in place with some companies for several years. Try reading something besides ECF.

 

[BAY Rose]

I cannot boycott blu at this moment due to the fact it's the one and only e-cig I own (well, you have to understand I've only discovered vaping a little over a week ago). I'm already looking into buying a KGO.

Anyway, I'm slowly being introduced to the political side of thee-cig industry and the move to ban said products from the marketplace. SHAMEFULL since vaping is healthier than smoking IMHO.

Not sure of the ramifications of BT buying into the e-cig market, but I can see it as both bad and good. Good only in the sense that they will want to keep e-cigs on the market and they have political clout to prevent it's ban. If e-cigs are banned I will be a most unhappy camper.

 

[dchest02]

There will most definitely come a time where the US government will get involved, and I am more worried about that happening than BT getting involved. One thought had crossed my mind, this could be an opportunity for BT to "alter" the ingredients of e-juice to make it look like it is harmful so that government involvement happens faster. Anything is possible.

 

[Harplayr]

There is another possibility that hasn’t been discussed much here.
With the introduction of BT in the picture, it could develop along the lines of the wine industry where you have some very large producers and distributers operating alongside of mom & pop wineries and home basement brews.

Personally this is the model I would most like to see and could work out best for everybody involved. The power of BT for R&D, combating over regulation and advertising operating along side of the little guy having the freedom to create their own juices and innovate with just enough regulation to ensure that anything sold meets certain reasonable safety standards.

 

[salventura]

I've never purchased anything from them, nor do I plan too

 

[Warren D. Lockaby]

I signed on to smoke cigarettes. I didn't sign on for the ammonia, arsenic, benzene, lead, cyanide and the other 3,995 chemicals in cigarettes. I most definitely didn't sign on for the MAOI's that they put in cigarettes to keep us addicted. For that, they should be in jail with the other drug dealers. Sorry, I was unaware that they were putting drugs in cigarettes intentionally to mess with my brain.

The tobacco companies did what all companies do... invest as little as possible to reap the highest rewards possible for their shareholders. Often, as in this case, the results are not pretty. But they did this presumably under the watchful eye of our federal Government, which had been taxing cigarettes since 1864.

So in truth the real enemy isn't a company or group of companies, but the corrupt Government We Pay & Trust to regulate them. And when the two entities crawl snugly into bed with one another is when we see how great a mess they can really make of things.

That's probably what we're about to see with this one. Again. Meantime, Happy Vaping!