I do not favor giving free samples of e-cigs to minors.

I also would not favor selective description of legal adults as "youth" (I would view it as an intentional attempt to deceive and distort.)

Definition based on the information presented in the article.

"The report found that Lorillard represented the largest portion of the giveaways and sponsorships in 2012 and 2013, providing free e-cigarette samples or sponsorship at 227 of the events, which included music festivals, parties and motor sports competitions. It also sponsored Freedom Project, a national tour by a number of bands. This year, tobacco control advocates criticized ads for the company’s Blu brand e-cigarettes that ran in Sports Illustrated magazine and featured women in bikinis, calling them an attempt to appeal to teenage boys."

'Free samples of E-cigarettes being handed out at concerts. The plan? Get them hooked. Stay clean. LLAP'

https://twitter.com/TheRealNimoy/status/456102656277487616

Big tobacco is buying up the E-cig companies and playing the old game. The FDA is working on regulations. They need to step up.

is perfectly fine in the good ole USA!

singing the "I'm loving it" McDonalds jingle. I was kinda shocked how effective their marketing was.

I don't know any e-cig user (including myself) who would have any problem with imposing age restrictions. But complaining about sweet flavours is like saying adults should only have "burnt coffee", "stale beer" and "dirty ashtray" flavours. Likewise, cigarette makers would sponsor rock concerts if they could still get away with it.

Thanks to my e-cig, I've gone from fifty a day to about five (and I'm working to eliminate those five) and my sense of taste is starting to return. I alternate between a tobacco flavour, dark chocolate, cherry and cinnamon flavours. You want me to show ID when I buy my liquids? No problem. You want to take away my sweet flavours? Go to hell.

but sold them in plain packaging that didn't look like candy or toys?

I say "in theory" because I've never seen them packaged like candy or toys. Maybe this is a US/UK thing (I'm British) but my liquid usually just comes in a child-proof bottle with a label specifying the flavour, strength and the maker's logo (a little cartoon devil for the company I usually use).

I've read that they usually aren't here in the U.S.

It's got one of those caps you have to press down on really hard to open.

I've got no problem with a certain amount of regulation.

Some companies have yet to start using child-proof bottles, but it is just a bottle and a plain label saying what flavor & nic strength it is

I've never seen them in an actual package being sold anywhere.

All the liquid I have ever bought is in some type of bottle. It looks more like medicine or eye drops depending on the bottle. The devices are packaged like standard mechanical/electrical devices, flashlights maybe? carving knifes?

From what I've seen, it depends on how much you're paying. The more you pay, the more high-end they want the product to look.

How most non-vapers and big tobacco think e-cigs look like:




How some non-vapers think e-cigs look like:




How most vaper's e-cig look like:

The only difference is that the liquid tank on mine is clear.

As it stands right now most ecig sales are from mom and pops places making the liquids themselves. All of the companies products listed at the bottom are crap and not what the majority of ecig users are using,

Your campaign against ecigs only works when you dial the dishonesty about them up to ten. Interesting that.

They accomplished that by buying out Blue e-cigs. But all the manufacturers want to sell more e-cigs to more people -- which means getting people hooked as soon as possible to their products -- and not relying on the steadily decreasing market of cigarette smokers for all of their sales.

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/03/18/new-competitors-enter-threatening-lorillards-domin.aspx

Lorillard (NYSE: LO ) dominates the US' juvenile electronic cigarette, or e-cig, market with its brand of Blu e-cigs. Indeed, during the fourth quarter of last year, Blu's share of the domestic e-cig market reached 50%. However, unfortunately Lorillard has acquired this market dominance at the expense of profitability, as the tobacco company has spent millions on advertising the brand to increase awareness.

Nevertheless, during the past year or so, Lorillard has had a relatively easy time dominating the e-cig market as it remains by far the largest company operating within the national market. The rest of the e-cig market remains highly fragmented, with 250 different brands trying to chase a relatively small domestic market of $1 to $2 billion, which makes it easy for Lorillard, with its multi-billion dollar marketing and development budget, to push smaller peers out of the way. However,Reynolds American (NYSE: RAI ) and Altria (NYSE: MO ) will soon roll out their e-cig offerings nationally, and this could stop Lorillard in its tracks.

Quietly building support
While Lorillard has been chasing market share during the past year, both Reynolds American and Altria have been testing their products in single states, identifying consumers' needs and wants before committing themselves to national roll-outs. In particular, Reynolds has developed the VUSE digital vapor cigarette which it has rolled out in Colorado, and VUSE has quickly become consumers' e-cig product of choice.

You keep spewing every negative thing you can find without any understanding of the actual market or the people using them.

If you limit the market to cigarette look alikes that you see in 7-11 then yes that company dominates but as soon as you include the types of ecigs people actually use on an ongoing basis that dominance falls apart.

Walk into a vapor shop near you I would bet you cant find any of the devices you have in your article in any of them.

Apr 14, 2014
Are E-Cigarettes Losing Ground in the Vapor Market?

http://blogs.wsj.com/corporate-intelligence/2014/04/14/are-e-cigarettes-losing-ground-in-the-vapor-market/

But a new note from tobacco industry analyst Bonnie Herzog at Wells Fargo raises another reason why Big Tobacco may struggle: some of the most passionate “vapers” are skipping the big brands of packaged e-cigarettes in favor of more specialized devices known as “vapors,” “tanks” and “mods.”

These can be refilled with nicotine liquids made by a range of producers, as opposed to typical e-cigarettes that are either disposable or refillable only with the company’s own brand of cartridges. Serious users seem to be taking to them in large numbers:

and that includes all similar nicotine dispensers, including e-cigs and vape pens.

It doesn't matter whether the product is disposable or refillable; they use basically the same technology, allowing for the dispensing of nicotine in a heated vapor. Yes, it's possible to purchase liquids without nicotine but unfortunately many teens are not aware that vape pens can contain nicotine and so they don't know to avoid it.

It's easy enough to track sales of disposable e-cigs from the big companies, but if I buy a battery or a bottle of e-liquid or an atomizer by itself, suddenly it becomes a whole different market and distribution channel.

You, and the big tobacco companies, focus on sales from places like convenience stores and Wal-Mart, but tend to leave out the brick and mortar stores that carry various batteries, atomizers, and e-liquids.

Lorillard claimed the No. 1 spot among e-cigarette companies in c-stores, with 45.5% dollar share in the recent period ended March 15, 2014, up 17.6 share points, year over year, according to a report by Wells Fargo.

Tried it just to see if I would like them. Lasted less than a day but demonstrated that I liked the concept. Then I went shopping to buy a proper rechargeable one online changeable clearomisers.

not just the ones that look like tobacco cigarettes. There is no important difference between e-cigs and vape pens, and the FDA classifies them both the same way. The fact that the little shops you frequent don't sell Blue doesn't mean anything.

You know nothing about them yet you are on some bizarre crusade.

and that the manufacturers are deliberately trying to confuse customers by branding with new names.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/05/business/e-cigarettes-under-aliases-elude-the-authorities.html

“The technology and hardware is the same,” said Adam Querbach, head of sales and marketing for Romman Inc. of Austin, Tex., which operates several websites that sell hookahs as well as e-cigarettes and e-hookahs. “A lot of the difference is branding.”

Sales of e-hookahs have grown “exponentially” in the last 18 months, Mr. Querbach said.

Public health authorities worry that people are being drawn to products that intentionally avoid the term “e-cigarette.” Of particular concern is use among teenagers, many of whom appear to view e-cigarettes and e-hookahs as entirely different products when, for all practical purposes, they are often indistinguishable.

Indeed, public health officials warn that they may be misjudging the use of such products — whatever they are called — partly because of semantics. A survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 10 percent of high school students nationwide said that they had tried e-cigarettes in 2012, double the year before. But the C.D.C. conceded it might have asked the wrong question: Many young people say they have not and will not use an e-cigarette but do say they have tried hookah pens, e-hookahs or vaping pens.

but names like Innokin, Kanger, eGo, ProVari, Vamo, Sigelei, and Vision among a host of others actually make the product most people buy. In addition many little companies make their own brand of mod, the electronics can even be bought separately so you can make your own case and have a real custom mod. and all the electronics come from, you guessed it, China

That isn't a small share.

It's just pathological lying at this point.

As far as I can tell the numbers you refer to are numbers that reflect sales basically made in convenience stores. These stores are not the majority of the market. Most likely not even close. Even though personal observation is only anecdotal, very few people use those products. If you see someone walking down the street vaping they are not using one of those devices.

That would be obvious.

It's likely the kids are vaping cannabis, not nicotine.

as described in the NPR article?

and buy the Gummi Bear flavor for e-hookas, merely by clicking on a box that says they're 18.

Cause you know children with credit cards and UPS deliveries to their houses to use in their $250 e-hookas.

right, this is where we venture into performance art.

I cant find any other explanation for this crusade.

The NYTimes we know why they are peddling these nonsensical memes. e-alternatives to cigarettes are having a real impact on tobacco sales and state tax revenue and revenue for the tobacco settlements, these are real threats to the established order of cancer delivery and taxation for poor people.

There is a huge chunk of revenue being lost here.

Because kids that have access to credit cards can do exactly the same thing with OTC drugs or alcohol too.

And can ship things to the home without being questioned by parents? Pretty weak.

And you may ask yourself
Where does that highway go?
And you may ask yourself
Am I right?...Am I wrong?
And you may tell yourself
MY GOD!...WHAT HAVE I DONE?

That song was a bit too deep for many when it came out, which does nothing to negate his message.

Fun fact: I read once where Byrne said said he picked the words and phrase for that song by listening to evangelists on the radio.

and the government wants its piece of the pie and that's what'll happen if the FDA gets involved.

Of course, the FDA already is involved because they approve all the chemicals that make the "juice" which can be purchased without nicotine. I've read up on e-cigs before purchasing one for myself (and I don't know who owns that company that makes it but I buy my juices from an online small business juice maker) and found that many adults like the flavored juices. Hell, I have a juice that's mocha cappuccino flavored just to give that a go.

I see e-cig juices being heavily taxed in the future.

now that people are successfully quitting he hates that too

him and cristy...

There are a number of reasons why it's difficult to stomach the claim that New Jersey's Republican Gov. Chris Christie is concerned about "public health". His newest proposal for a pricey new excise tax on e-cigs is just one of them.

In 2010, Christie slashed $7.5 million --- virtually all of the state's investment --- in smoking prevention and cessation support from the state's "Comprehensive Tobacco Control Program". As a result, the American Lung Association (ALA) now ranks NJ as 50th in the nation on this issue, recently noting, they are "the only state in the country to provide no state funding" for such programs.

Christie's gutting of the state's once-robust program has resulted in an "F" grade from the ALA on both "Tobacco Prevention" and "Cessation Coverage", leading them to write: "This lack of funding to help tobacco users quit is a stark contradiction with New Jersey's high tax rate of $2.70 per pack generating over $700 million each year in revenues."

Thus, it's all the more absurd to hear the "fiscally conservative" Christie administration now calling for a massive new "sin tax" on e-cigarettes, which are known to be a far safer alternative to smoking, since "vaping" includes none of the deadly toxins, such as tar and carbon monoxide, found in combustible tobacco.

But "conservative" hypocrisy aside, what makes Christie's new tax and spend plan even more absurd is that his state Treasurer is now claiming their "main concern is public health."
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=10575

and nicotine isn't harmless so I can see a decent argument for taxing nicotine-bearing juices at, say, 5%.

they tax everything bad for ya...like white processed sugar,whiskey,beer,candy ect

and nicotine is in some veggies btw

Actually, what I said in the previous post was based on the fact that here (UK) tobacco taxation pays for treatment for smoking related ailments. I was thinking that a small tax on the nicotine juices would have teh same use but forgot that you guys don't really have healthcare in teh same way.

we pay for children's healthcare with tobacco taxes in illinois

Senate Bill 194, introduced on January 31st by noted anti-tobacco Senators Durbin, Blumenthal and Lautenberg, has slightly more modest goals, but would be no less devastating for the e-cigarette industry and would impose massive increases for tobacco products other than cigarettes.
http://www.tobaccolawblog.com/2013/02/federal-bills-would-subtantially-increase-tobacco-taxes-and-allow-ne

I will do nothing for the tax smokers/nanny state Dems.

i do not understand this nanny state mentality...it is like they want to lose elections

18% of adults still smoke and dems like durbin have tried to run them off for years

<shrugs>

now folks are trying to quit with vaping and they still are against it

they just want to tax the shit out of it.

They want to punish the users because their own ignorance makes them think it's smoking. These people don't bother to research anything....they just keep spouting the same bullshit talking points no matter how many times they've been debunked.

And, this same thread, with this same bullshit will be posted on DU for DAYS. Over and over again.

good for us, i think about stuff like christy and durbin both coming out of nowhere to tax something that actually reduces harm


and my senical self thinks,,,,watch how fast this bi partisanship works

If they tax the juices to make them as expensive as cigarettes, that would eliminate one reason for switching to them.

That shit is just as expensive as cigarettes, so no one uses them anymore.

If you're trying to save money by quitting smoking, the NRT products sure as hell ain't the way to do it.

This whole "issue" with e-cigs is nothing more than talking points put out by Big Pharma who will lose money to e-cigs.

This whole campaign is nothing more than Big Pharma trying to kill e-cigs as competition.

Granted, this is apples to oranges but here, the NHS will happily shower you with a load of NRT treatments.

and you can't even buy a "pack" at a time, you have to go for the full carton.

You can still buy NRTs (because people might not want the NHS ones for whatever reason). IIRC, they come in packs of two or three.