Blu ecig buyout--boycott??

[sailorman]

...
With smart play, Lorillard (and other forward thinking tobacco companies) can similarly rule the digital nicotine world in a decade or two. .....

And that's a good thing? I'm not looking forward to seeing the wreckage they leave behind in their quest to rule the digital nicotine world. I'm quite sure they have as little interest in my vaping enjoyment, or my choices, or my wallet as they had in my health.

Unlike some, I don't evaluate the world, or my personal happiness, in terms of next quarter's earning statement or the contentment level of Wall St.

 

[tj99959]

Corporations buy out corporations, that's just the way business works. Heck I'm old enough to even remember when CBS owned CBS. How many times has that company changed hands?!
Smart move by Blu IMHO. I also think that the only changes we will see in the foreseeable future will Blu using Lorillard's marketing.
Guess we just need to accept the fact that vaping has gone mainstream, and we all new that was going to happen sooner or later.
I don't think we need to be screaming that the sky is falling just yet.

 

[badmotivator]

Will you say that when they do the exact same thing to e-juice?

I see your point fully now. At first I was going to keep up the quibbling, cuz that's hella fun, but basically I agree with you. There is some risk that BT will use regulatory capture to disadvantage other players in this market and thereby advantage themselves. I don't see (yet) why this situation has changed after this acquisition; they could have tried to disadvantage the whole e-cig market before they got into blu, but I haven't seen evidence that this happened. Thoughts? I'm genuinely enjoying your input.

 

[mechanus]

I'm thinking that, if anything, the tobacco industry will fight to *not* have PVs placed in the same category as cigarettes and other combustible tobacco products - especially indoor bans, at places at least like bars. If they're motivated (like many large publicly-traded corporations) by the bottom line, they'll push to make sure that the product can be consumed anywhere with impunity. It's had to fight that when the product is known to have health related problems for both active and passive consumers, but with vaping, it hasn't been demonstrated that's the case (and let's hope that it's demonstrated to be on par with drinking coffee as far as effects go).

Of course, that doesn't stop the industry to push for other regulations, like laboratory regulations for liquids, non-refillable cartomizers, and other areas where the profit margin is attractive. In any case, that's were the business is in the long run. Regulations (and corporate muscle) at that level is the area I'm worried about.

 

[DC2]

So this is my opinion, based on nothing but common sense as I see it...


Electronic cigarettes are the future, and everyone knows it.
Lorillard has made the first play, and they are going to make the most of it.

They now have access to the patent, and are free to run with this shiny new ball.
And they will.

Look for them to help make electronic cigarettes as attractive as possible.
They would be shooting themselves in the foot (and wasting a golden opportunity) to play it any other way.

They will be there fighting against indoor vaping bans.
And they will be there fighting against unreasonable taxation rates.

However, it is likely they will support regulations that enforce the use of only prefilled cartomizers, for the sake of the children.
Prefilled cartomizers will be the bread and butter of this brave new world.

Banning flavors, however, would serve them no purpose, other than shooting themselves in the foot.

 

[Harplayr]

As far as devices, flavors and juice go, I can just as easily foresee a model based upon the wine / pipe tobacco industry.

Big Booze coexists with mom and pop wineries and basement brewers. You have your everyday cheep wines stocked on shelves along side of boutique expensive wines. Tobacco stores sell the regular pipe tobacco alongside more exotic flavors. We see cigarettes, cigars, pipes and other stuff sitting behind your Walgreens checkout counter. I don’t see why it won’t be any different with juice or vaping systems.

What I DO see changing is regulation on juice that is publically sold to ensure the ingredients are of a certain grade, the packaging labeled with the ingredients listed, and produced in clean environments which are subject to inspection. This is not a bad thing IMO and I look forward to the innovation that big investments in R&D will bring.

 

[Vapoor eyes er]

Plain and simple their strategy will be to minimize the number of players out there thus ensuring greater profit. I believe they will be 100% for regulation as that in itself will force many out of the business. Delivery devices will prolly be non refillable thus ensuring a black market for nic juice would not thrive. Control the market and maximize profits will be their strategy and whether or not it's good for us or ethical will not matter. They're already selling/ marketing a regulated product so already they have the capability, resources and ,most importantly, the Government/ Political/ FDA connections to see this through. All IMHO.

 

[wv2win]

.........What I DO see changing is regulation on juice that is publically sold to ensure the ingredients are of a certain grade, the packaging labeled with the ingredients listed, and produced in clean environments which are subject to inspection. This is not a bad thing IMO and I look forward to the innovation that big investments in R&D will bring.

So you are "looking forward" to only being able to buy eliquid in sealed carts, regular and menthol flavor only and limited nicotine strengths??? No cartomizes and no tanks. You consider this a good thing?????

 

[DPLongo22]

"Hello, Ourselves? We're getting ahead of you."

 

[Harplayr]

So you are "looking forward" to only being able to buy eliquid in sealed carts, regular and menthol flavor only and limited nicotine strengths??? No cartomizes and no tanks. You consider this a good thing?????

no, and I also don't look forward to people taking my posts completely out of context.

 

[wv2win]

no, and I also don't look forward to people taking my posts completely out of context.

I'm just pointing out that your "rose-colored glasses" scenario may be quite naive. BT has a track record that does not support your confidence. If your scenario is all that happens, then we would all be pleased. But it is highly unlikely that will be the outcome if for no other reason that there is much less profit in it.

 

[elfstone]

Will the big money R&D from BT give me a better rebuildable atomizer that is a snap to re-do, or that uses some magnetic inductance or ultrasonic thingie that costs 25 cents per month to maintain and doesn't involve the coil touching the liquid?

Or would have this R&D ever given me a rebuildable atty that uses plain SS mesh costs a couple of bucks per month to re-build and gives of massive flavor and vapor?

No.

Not even the current Chinese mass manufacturers would. Only indy "open source" development can do that.

Why? Because good business depends on scarcity. Any technical solution that results in sustainability is inhibited by nature of a big business. You may allow yourself to be lulled all you want by the PR dreams of "responsible capitalism", but that beast just doesn't exist. And to think out of all big businesses out there, it will be BT that will suddenly take our safety, expense and comfort to heart is... no need for a qualifier, it's obvious.

 

[Harplayr]

I'm just pointing out that your "rose-colored glasses" scenario may be quite naive. BT has a track record that does not support your confidence. If your scenario is all that happens, then we would all be pleased. But it is highly unlikely that will be the outcome if for no other reason that there is much less profit in it.

I see my “rose colored” scenario as being just as likely as the “doomsday” scenario others are painting.
The reality will most likely fall somewhere in-between.

My suggestion that “boutique brands” can coexist with the major brands, and that a variety of PV’s can still be available is taken from the current model of the liquor and tobacco industry. I don’t see any reason why it is not possible for that model to continue where vaping is concerned.

 

[elfstone]

Just to point out: I can believe that co-existence could be possible, unless they really insist on crushing alternatives. For experienced vapers, I bet there will always be ways to get better stuff from non-traditional markets, but that's a different issue.

 

[joe98200]

I don't know, but I am guess the term used for using a e-cig (vapor...) was developed so it would not be associated with tobacco cigarettes . Nope in the strictes of terms maybe you not smoking, but with any fire big or small there is always water vapor left. So an e-gig just cuts out the middle man.

Lol that's not how it works. Water being a common product in many chemical reactions doesn't mean all of those reactions are the same. And for example, the one oxygen difference between water and hydrogen peroxide doesn't make them similar.

 

[wv2win]

I see my “rose colored” scenario as being just as likely as the “doomsday” scenario others are painting.
The reality will most likely fall somewhere in-between.

My suggestion that “boutique brands” can coexist with the major brands, and that a variety of PV’s can still be available is taken from the current model of the liquor and tobacco industry. I don’t see any reason why it is not possible for that model to continue where vaping is concerned.

On the "doomsday" side you have a combination of: biased, zealot anti's; liberal, control your life, FDA; powerful, deep pocket, fear mongering Big Pharm and deceptive, profit driven, history of lying Big Tobacoo. On the "rose-colored glasses" side you have the boutique liquor industry as an alternative.

And you still think there will not be a strong, concerted effort to limit vaping choice to prefilled carts, that no one wants to use, who understands how vaping works best??

Please pass out those rose-colored glasses so we can all skip down the road, singing: follow the yellow brick road, follow the yellow brick road.

 

[Harplayr]

On the "doomsday" side you have a combination of: biased, zealot anit's; liberal, control your life, FDA; powerful, deep pocket, fear mongering Big Pharm and deceptive, profit driven, history of lying Big Tobacoo. On the "rose-colored glasses" side you have the boutique liquor industry as an alternative.

And you still think there will not be a strong, concerted effort to limit vaping choice to prefilled carts, that no one wants to use, who understands how vaping works best??

Please pass out those rose-colored glasses so we can all skip down the road, singing: follow the yellow brick road, follow the yellow brick road.

Maybe we can get together on this and ship the rose colored glasses along with a tin foil hat....good marketing to cover all bases

 

[Vapoor eyes er]

BT has the resources that if they wished could place an order for 500K Kgo's, 500K Riva's, etc thereby effectively freezing out the small guy. Could also order cartos, cartridges in bulk and drive the price down. I wouldn't be surprised to see them manufacturing their own stuff overseas. Add to this scenario regulation and that's the end of the Mom and Pop shops that were the forerunners of this industry and it would mean handing over control of the industry to BT. Now that we have the choice of choosing relatively safe juice would BT change the recipe as they have with tobacco. Originally tobacco was "tobacco"....somewhere along the way BT decided, with the backing of governments and the FDA/ Health Canada, etc to add a myriad of toxic chemicals to tobacco. Reasoning behind this move was to have us become even more addicted and to increase profits. Can they be trusted based on past performance and history...

NO

 

[mackBIZ]

I think this is a good sign for the tobacco industry. They are really trying to embrace alternative methods of delivering nicotine. With investment and R&D, it is possible industry can create a product that is just as satisfying and convenient to smokers without the health hazards. It seems the industry really needs to embrace innovation

 

[mackBIZ]

Do you guys think the quality of blue e-cigs will go down now thought? It is always best to stick to boutique brands that specialize in their product anyways