e-cigarette tv ad giving a bad image to considerate vapers?

[Merryhellion]

A major distributor of a cigalike (name witheld by choice not to make that the issue here) has this ad out on tv...saturation level advertising; I see it everywhere. A sultry voicover accompanies a young lady in bars and other public places, smugly talking about how she can do it anywhere, because...it's just vapor!

Is this what legislators are seeing, bombarded every time they watch television with the impression that vapers "get away with something"? A taunt, a challenge..."you can't stop me, because it isn't a cigarette". Way to wind up everyone they can, especially people who continue to smoke!

Quitting smoking to me is about being free of burning tobacco, not thumbing my nose at the powers that be. vaping isn't something I use to get in people's faces...and get away with it scot free! It is a personal choice, something that has given me the power to make a profound and permanent change in my life. I don't have to flaunt it; I've already won so much more of a battle than anything I could pull off being rude!

I don't mind taking my nicotine outside with the cig smokers. It isn't a bother to be polite to those who don't want to have to put up with cloud chasing indoors! But I don't want to see people who have no understanding of the victory vapor has given so many of us, wound tight to the point they are too busy saying no to say yes.

Seriously, every time that ad comes on, I want to step through the screen, slap everyone involved with the commercial and its' production, and scream "stop it! you are giving everyone who isn't an arrogant boob about their vaping, the blame for this". There is no strong reference to it as an aid in quitting smoking, it is all about being a jerk.

This ad feels like it is taking away our chance to be understood as humans in control of our lives, all for the chance to make money off vaping by a big tobacco company.

I smoked for 33 years, and never did I see smokers portrayed in anything but an anti-smoking "public service announcement", as jerks. How many considerate smokers are going to find a way out of their habit via vaping with this sort of hokey schmaltz on the tube?

 

[DrMA]

Whereas I do see your point that such an ad might come off as arrogant, I do disagree with your contention that taking vaping outside with the smokers is an acceptable practice. As you state yourself, we vape to avoid the risks posed by smoke (i.e., particulate emissions from the combustion of organic matter), which, by all accounts from the EPA assessment, is just as dangerous second-hand and third-hand as it is for an active smoker. Why then, would you be willing to subject yourself to the risk of being surrounded by a group of smokers in a tiny area? Just to appease the nannies? No thank you.

Mind you, I'm not advocating cloud chasing at your local watering hole, but I would not be so willing to be pushed outside with the smokers to vape. We all know vapers can be respectful in their use of PVs by significantly reducing their vapor emissions, when vaping indoors. This is not only polite, but common sense.

 

[edyle]

yup; some of the ads I've seen are like they're made to attract obnoxious smokers or something; it's like theyre made by non smokers who happen to be making an ad for a smoking industry giant

 

[Roger_Lafayette]

As long as we're going to discuss it, you might as well tell us which one it is. Your description makes it sounds like the now-infamous Jenny McCarthy Blu ad:
blu eCigs 2013 TV Commercial: "Freedom" featuring Jenny McCarthy for blu Electronic Cigarettes - YouTube

(Except there's no voiceover)

"NJOY Presents: Relax...It's Courtney Love!" is also amusing to Google on Youtube. I can't post the link here because a bad word is used. (It's rather funny though

 

[Kent C]

Likely part of the reason behind CASAA's new 'white paper'.

 

[Merryhellion]

Yep, it's the blu ad. And mostly I go outside with the smokers because I usually end up with new vape buddies that way =)

 

[stevegmu]

yup; some of the ads I've seen are like they're made to attract obnoxious smokers or something; it's like theyre made by non smokers who happen to be making an ad for a smoking industry giant

BLU doesn't make their ads, advertising agencies do...

 

[Nate760]

Any discussion about e-cig advertising must include mention of this highly pertinent fact: the industry is prohibited by law from saying 1) that these products are useful in quitting smoking, 2) that they're not tobacco products, or 3) that they're less hazardous than cigarettes. This doesn't leave very many avenues of marketing remaining.

 

[stevegmu]

Any discussion about e-cig advertising must include mention of this highly pertinent fact: the industry is prohibited by law from saying 1) that these products are useful in quitting smoking, 2) that they're not tobacco products, or 3) that they're less hazardous than cigarettes. This doesn't leave very many avenues of marketing remaining.

Can you provide links for these laws? I know the FDA sent warning letters saying e-cigarette manufacturers should not make health claims, but I can't recall laws concerning this...

 

[Nate760]

"NJOY Presents: Relax...It's Courtney Love!" is also amusing to Google on Youtube. I can't post the link here because a bad word is used. (It's rather funny though

I was reading an editorial the other day from some local newspaper or another; it was typical ANTZ fare, they hit all the tried-and-true fallacies and talking points, but when they got to the "advertising targeted at teenagers" trope, they came out with this howler: "With celebrity endorsers like rocker Courtney Love, it couldn't be more obvious that e-cig manufacturers are targeting young audiences hoping to lure them into a lifetime of nicotine addiction."

Because yeah, what better way to target the kiddies than by hiring some 50 year old has-been rock star whose last hit record came out when their parents were in high school.

 

[sc12]

BLU doesn't make their ads, advertising agencies do...

Right but the folks at BLU have to approve the ad they're paying the agency to create.

 

[thorn]

Can you provide links for these laws? I know the FDA sent warning letters saying e-cigarette manufacturers should not make health claims, but I can't recall laws concerning this...

The rule is if health claims are made, the product will be treated like a drug and taken off the market until years of studies have been completed and approved for those health claims. I wouldn't be surprised if the 'quit smoking' product companies are owned by the tobacco companies, which sin taxes pays the FDA payroll.

 

[stevegmu]

Right but the folks at BLU have to approve the ad they're paying the agency to create.

It is a company owned by share holders, not avid vapers...

 

[stevegmu]

The rule is if health claims are made, the product will be treated like a drug and taken off the market until years of studies have been completed and approved for those health claims. I wouldn't be surprised if the 'quit smoking' product companies are owned by the tobacco companies, which sin taxes pays the FDA payroll.

What laws are these? From what I recall, the FDA issued warning letters; no such laws regarding advertisement of e-cigs have passed...

 

[serenity21899]

Blu's "Smoke anywhere" thing always bugged me, to the point of yelling at my TV that it's just not true. I just follow the old smoking rules when I'm out in public. It just causes less problems. People are not used to vapers yet, and I feel like it's best not to tick them off too much, or it will be taken all away from us.

Where this is going to be hard from me is in Chicago, which has a public use ban. I don't agree with it, but it is being enforced. So, I get to follow the rules whether I want to or not.

 

[Nate760]

What laws are these? From what I recall, the FDA issued warning letters; no such laws regarding advertisement of e-cigs have passed...

It doesn't have to do specifically with e-cigs. Consumer products aren't allowed to make health claims that don't have the FDA stamp of approval.

 

[Nate760]

Blu's "Smoke anywhere" thing always bugged me, to the point of yelling at my TV that it's just not true. I just follow the old smoking rules when I'm out in public. It just causes less problems. People are not used to vapers yet, and I feel like it's best not to tick them off too much, or it will be taken all away from us.

I occasionally vape in places where I wouldn't have smoked, but always discreetly and never if other people are in close proximity. The only people I've had speak to me about it were curious smokers looking to quit. It kind of amazes me sometimes, with as much media coverage as there's been, how many people there are who don't seem to know the first thing about what e-cigs are or what they do. I've been asked questions like "Where do you put the tobacco?" and "Do you have to light it?"

 

[stevegmu]

It doesn't have to do specifically with e-cigs. Consumer products aren't allowed to make health claims that don't have the FDA stamp of approval.

What laws are you referring to? You said ,"the industry is prohibited by law"... The FDA can pursue cease and desist orders, or levy fines, but there are no specific laws...

 

[Nate760]

What laws are you referring to? You said ,"the industry is prohibited by law"... The FDA can pursue cease and desist orders, or levy fines, but there are no specific laws...

Yes, there are specific laws. The FDA's legal authority derives from, and is enumerated in, the following statutes:

United States Code, Title 21, Chapter 9
Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act
Public Health Service Act
Controlled Substances Act

 

[stevegmu]

Yes, there are specific laws. The FDA's legal authority derives from, and is enumerated in, the following statutes:

United States Code, Title 21, Chapter 9
Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act
Public Health Service Act
Controlled Substances Act

What category do electronic cigarettes or e-liquid fall under?