Is it time for re-branding?

[shgilman]

So here's the question. Everywhere we look, the term used for our devices and liquids usually refers to, "e cigarette". This very term in itself presents a negative connotation to analogs and the horrible effects that have been advertised and published for years.
It is not helping our cause, and is hurting us, as vapers, manufacturers of the devices, and the liquids manufacturers and retailers. Even our own forum is called "e-cigarette Forum".
Our liquids and flavorings are labeled a e liquid or e flavoring. Even the "e" is connected to the cigarette, again implying it is just a electronic model of an analog. It was the big tobacco's downfall biggest mistake.
Talk to anyone who is not generally educated about the industry and you get a negative reaction. Hell, even my own daughter gave me grief about it at first because it had the word' "cigarette".
Here is a great example of re-branding:
Ford Motor Company discontinued the Taurus model line and a few years later presented the Ford 500. Supposedly to take the public back to good ole days of the Fairlane and Galaxy. It lasted 2 years with miserable sales. So Ford re-branded the model as the comeback Taurus model. No major changes, just a different name and marketing strategy. And it has been a successful sales generator ever since.
So I pose this question for discussion and input from users, manufacturers flavoring suppliers and retailers. I am aware that the label "PV and APV" are starting to appear. WE need to urge the industry to follow suit and divorce ourselves from the cigarette stigma. Even our nicotine is a choice, not a requirement for vaping. We have bunches of fellow vapers here that do not add nicotine to their mixes. The word Nicotine used in reference to the industry should be carefully evaluated for the effect it has on the public. Remember all of the FDA crap and public scrutiny we are experiencing is because of the "e cigarette", not a personal vaporizer.
Lets have the discussion!!

 

[retired1]

Why It's Called An 'E-Cigarette' And 'E-Smoking'

 

[Krashman Von Stinkputin]

Someone here on the forums suggested:

"Juice Burner"

Sounds innocuous---like something Vince might sell on late nite infomercial or the "dirt mall" somewheres:

 

[Moaufan]

I, smoked for 36 years and I have always hated the word cigarette. I, don't like the way it rolls off my tongue. When I started vaping I decided it was time for a change and not use the term E-cigarette. Since day one when somebody asks "What's that thing?" It's a personal vaporizer. Oh! Like a E-cig? Yes. But a better name for it because it is nothing like a cigarette. That usually opens up the conversation and gives me a chance to educate. I, totally agree with the OP, the more we further ourselves from the word cigarette the better off we'll be.

 

[shgilman]

Great question Retired1,
I believe the answer could be is that the industry WANTED to associate it with cigarettes as an alternative to the analogs in the beginning. But it seems to have backfired over time. Yes it created the birth of the industry, but it still leaves a bad taste in everyone's mouth and has created ammunition for the scaremongers. Especially the opponents to the practice. A good amount of powder could be taken out of their bullets if the products were rebranded and disassociated ourselves from the cigarette industry and any mention of it.

 

[retired1]

This topic comes up quite often (I'm surprised we've gone this long, usually it's every couple of weeks). Regardless of the thinking regarding changing the terms, the horse is already out of the barn. Doesn't matter what we call it, those who want to vilify the devices will continue to do so.

 

[GinnyTx]

because "smoking cessation device" or personal vaporizer wouldn't sell (as always "follow the money")

I'll agree Retired, that horse done left the barn...

I call it my vape.

 

[DaveP]

I agree that E-cigarette is the appropriate term for helping people understand the switch and the differences between the two. Yes, there's been controversy about e-cigarettes. "We don't know what's in them", "Those things contain antifreeze", "They are actually worse than tobacco cigarettes", ""You are still smoking", "Nicotine will kill you". The list is endless, but it opens up a conversational pathway to impart the truth to those who ask those questions and make the groundless accusations.

We, as members of ECF, are privy to to the latest studies and we've all explored the ingredients and their properties. It's up to us to provide the information when a conversation comes up with someone who doesn't understand e-cigarettes. Personally, I look at e-cigarettes as a solution to a problem that was destined to kill me. When there's evidence that vaping is medically harmful, I will re-evaluate.

I view ecigs in the same way I view combustion engine automobiles compared to true electric cars (not hybrids). They are totally different propulsion systems, but accomplish the same tasks without filling the air with noxious chemicals.

 

[tj99959]

Does it matter if you call it a pot or a pan, a car or an automobile, a trike or a 3 wheeler, soccer or football?

Funny part is an eGo has a name, it's an eGo, a Provari is a Provari, and a Hanna is a Hanna. So if you don't like calling them an e-cig ... DON'T ...

And I need to go clean the switch on my e-cig ... AH-ER ... Nemesis, it's feeling a bit crunchy.


add:
Cleaned the switch on that e-cig .......... WOW ........ what a difference







folks would even know what I was talking about if I said Nemesis instead of e-cig

 

[Krashman Von Stinkputin]

because "smoking cessation device" or personal vaporizer wouldn't sell (as always "follow the money")

I'll agree Retired, that horse done left the barn...

I call it my vape.

Can't call it "Smoking Cessation Device" legally anyway without tripping the "medical device" trigger as per the
FDA vs NJoy (Sottera) judgement

This adjudication is the very reason we are vaping today like we are and why no manufacturer advertises their "e-cig" as a smoking cessation device.

IMHO: I think calling it a smoking cessation device would sell--just look at all the Nicoderm and Chantix commercials on TV. Of course those products went through FDA approval specifically as "smoking cessation" products (which is also why Big Pharma is so against vaping, which sidestepped it originally)

 

[Steelgirl]

BOVD. Battery Operated Vaping Device. I pronounce it like scientific cattle term Bovine, then add the hard D, so it comes out BOV-D That's what I call mine.

 

[GinnyTx]

Can't call it "Smoking Cessation Device" legally anyway without tripping the "medical device" trigger as per the
FDA vs NJoy (Sottera) judgement

This adjudication is the very reason we are vaping today like we are and why no manufacturer advertises their "e-cig" as a smoking cessation device.

IMHO: I think calling it a smoking cessation device would sell--just look at all the Nicoderm and Chantix commercials on TV. Of course those products went through FDA approval specifically as "smoking cessation" products (which is also why Big Pharma is so against vaping, which sidestepped it originally)

but that's where we're going with it anyways..I understand why they didn't want to go that way (big $ and paperwork/time) but that's where it's headed and always was.

the devices are going to have to ally with either Big Tobacco or Big Pharm is where I feel it'll go and the net result, we'll pay more.

 

[DaveP]

The more new vapers that join our ranks, the more information will be disseminated to the public. Just about every time someone sees me vaping in public and comes up to start a conversation, they eventually mention that they have a relative that just won't stop smoking. They want to know about my ecig, whether it stopped me from smoking cigarettes, and how I like it. Then, they want to know where they can buy one for that relative.

E-cigarette is just fine as long as we communicate the differences to people we meet. Tobacco cigarettes will kill you; E-cigarettes will not. That's the message we need to saturate the public with. That, and the realization that one stinks and the other doesn't. People don't experience that if you don't vape in front of them and let them sniff the air. Personal demonstration can be a good thing for letting people experience ecigs first hand.

 

[tj99959]

but that's where we're going with it anyways..I understand why they didn't want to go that way (big $ and paperwork/time) but that's where it's headed and always was.

the devices are going to have to ally with either Big Tobacco or Big Pharm is where I feel it'll go and the net result, we'll pay more.

There is nothing preventing BT or BP from entering the e-cig market. Either one could produce some pretty amazing devices if they wanted to. It's not like they're small budget companies. Right now they don't even need FDA's approval to do so. Personally I think the hang up for them is the fear that the FDA might get PO'ed at them if they were to produce a meaningful product. Then they might not be able to get their cash cows approved.

 

[GT86]

I agree the horse has left the barn and it will be very hard to rename the horse but over time I think the term ecig will be used less. Look at the automobile, when it first came out that's what it was called but who calls it that today. Now it's a car or a ride or my wheels or a whip or.......... I think as ecigs get more accepted the terminology will get more widespread and more accepted too.
When I started vaping a month ago and I went out at lunch from work to our smoking spot a guy I know rode up and looked at me and said "Oh **** Davo's vaping". He doesn't vape but he knew what to call it, he didn't say "Davo's got an ecig".
So I think slowly over time there will be a lot more common terms used and ecig will fade away...anyway ecig just sounds stupid to me and I hate even saying it.

 

[Scootaloo]

I see what the OP means:

And I myself think we should divorce ourselves from the term “E-cigarette”.

We’ve made a good start on ECF in the area this is posted in as it used to be called “general E smoking discussions” but now it’s “general vaping”.

Anyway, with the rise of vaping and Ego like devices it’s not some kooky new device anymore, a large majority of even none users get the general idea and know about vaping etc.

 

[cafecraig]

Agree, up 'til recently, the term "e-cigarette" has been best for gaining adoption from users who have not heard of them before.

However it is no longer that simple, IMHO. It's become even more of a timing issue.

Currently BT is working on perfecting their closed system devices (Vuse, Blu, etc.. sealed cartos more or less) which are intended to 1) speed and ease regulation, and thus 2) force smaller companies who cannot afford to comply with that regulation to close/sell out (this means mostly everyone but PMI, Lorillard, Reynolds, BAT, other BT companies). If you have seen the Vuse TV commercial, you know they are doing this on purpose, begging for regulation.

So, the term "e-cigarette" is really being aggressively "owned" by Big Tobacco in the mass media. Since these devices (fancy "digital" cigalikes) are what BT is using to spur regulation and kill off open systems (standalone e-liquids, mods and attys), and they are advertising "e-cigarettes" as, basically, pure evil..... this is how a lot of Americans will be introduced to "e-cigarettes." Made by BT, by tobacco experts, for use by smokers to get their "fix," seen on TV ads over and over. So that's an e-cigarette.

So with all the TV ads designed to get non-smokers so angered about it, the TV adds which repeatedly say "cigarette" in them, it could trump using the term "e-cigarette" to accomplish the "strength in numbers" strategy, and start getting that term to work against us.

Even the industry players/experts are calling them different things. Here is how they are referred to in a Tobacco Industry presentation by Wells Fargo analyst Bonnie Herzog::

"Emerging Vapors/Tanks/Open System Vapor Products Could be Marginalizing the “Cig-alike” E-Cigs but Incrementally Growing the Overall E-Vapor Category"
"... huge growth is in Vapor, and traditional E-cigs have slowed down.”
“As the consumers became more aware of the Vapor devices we are seeing sales move from E-Cigs to the Vapor side.”
“More of a uptick in Vapor. E-cigs are going down.”

Check out her powerpoint presentation (if you have MS Office) - it's interesting: http://www.ecigarette-politics.com/files/WF-DallasMarch2014.ppt

I think it's time to switch. The horse has already left the barn, meaning that BT has claimed "e-cigarette" in the mass media - so we need to hop onto a different horse to outrun it, in the race for sensible regulation.

I am starting to put together a non-political-action, non-review-based, non-sponsored YouTube Channel just to help the general public learn about vapor products (PVs, open tank systems, the evolution/history of ecigs, PVs versus the BT products, why/how they are different, e-liquid ingredients, epidemiological studies done, etc) and have the URL "gettoknowvapor.com"

On that Channel, I feel it is important to separate open system vapes from the BT "e-cigarettes" being advertised on TV. Lumping ourselves into :"e-cigarettes" alongside BT will only keep setting us further and further back. The use of "e-cigarette-forum" is actually good, because it can help us attract the Vuse and Blu and BT-product users and get them off those lame technologies and onto proper Vapor Products.

 

[GinnyTx]

There is nothing preventing BT or BP from entering the e-cig market. Either one could produce some pretty amazing devices if they wanted to. It's not like they're small budget companies. Right now they don't even need FDA's approval to do so. Personally I think the hang up for them is the fear that the FDA might get PO'ed at them if they were to produce a meaningful product. Then they might not be able to get their cash cows approved.

well yeah..it's like saying ...well we're killing less and less folks, they got smarter, now we want in on it $$..I've seen stranger things when it comes to big biz & govt regs. (worked at NASA talk about a cluster mes ...and when I was there, I knew we'd be without a shuttle too..it took ten years..but we're there) want something all messed up? get the govt in on it.

 

[Vermonster13]

BT is producing all kinds of ecigs(I call mine my puffers and I'm a magic dragon) and the get prime shelf space in the tobacco shops. It is too late for them to get us but they are firmly planted in front of the next generations of vapors. In 10 years they'll own this market.

 

[zahzoo]

It's a multi-billion dollar industry... There will be new branding, rebranding and most likely more new terms created we haven't thought of yet.

But at it's foundation e-cigarette isn't going to go away...