Feds Ramp Up Scare Tactics With Anti-Electronic Cigarette Ad Campaign

Despite the fact that the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) works very closely with the US government on an array of different regulations, it seems that the US authorities are now jumping the gun and attacking electronic cigarettes with Anti-Electronic Cigarette Ad Campaign. The authorities have announced their hard-hitting campaign to encourage people to quit smoking which will incorporate electronic cigarettes and challenge their status as a quit smoking aid.

Despite the fact that millions of people around the world have reduced their tobacco intake via the use of electronic cigarettes, it is worth noting that no electronic cigarette company has ever advertised their products as quit smoking devices. Indeed if we look towards the UK, the authorities have been very strict with regards to UK companies looking to insinuate electronic cigarettes could be a quit smoking aid.

Is reduction not the first stage in quitting?

One of the main planks of the US government’s argument against tobacco cigarettes and electronic cigarettes is the “fact” that many electronic cigarette users still smoke tobacco cigarettes as well. The fact that they have cut down on their tobacco intake seems to have passed the US authorities by as well as the fact that some medical professionals believe that electronic cigarettes offer the “best opportunity” in our lifetime to rid the world of tobacco addiction. So, why the confusing messages?

When you bear in mind one of the captions in the ad campaign reads “I started using e-cigarettes but kept smoking. Right up until my lung collapsed.” is this scare tactics to the extreme?

Californian authorities join in the attack

While an attack on the electronic cigarette industry by the US government is bad enough, have you seen the ongoing campaign by the California State authorities? This campaign will be splashed across TV, digital and outdoor advertising venues suggesting that electronic cigarettes are “brought to you by the people who brought you lung cancer”. This despite the fact that the US government and state authorities up and down the land have creamed billions upon billions of dollars from smokers in years gone by. The skilful use of “sin tax” powers has seen tobacco cigarette smokers targeted year upon year and now this is moving towards the vaping industry.

There is no doubt that government and state authorities do have an obligation to protect the safety and well-being of the general public. They may be privy to information which is not yet public on an array of different subjects but the medical profession so far has not cited any major issues regarding the long-term use of electronic cigarettes. Indeed some experts have gone as far as to suggest that electronic cigarettes are 90% less harmful than their tobacco counterparts – not a perfect scenario by any means, but one which is surely an improvement over tobacco addiction?

Is this the start of a new witchhunt?

We’re starting to see the emergence of a very strong trend amongst critics of the electronic cigarette industry, the determination to put them in the same group as tobacco cigarettes in the minds of the general public. There is a growing concern that by discussing these two very different products in the same light it will be easier to introduce “vaping taxes” in the future. However, research shows that the harder the authorities try to play down the positive impact of electronic cigarettes the more popular they are becoming with the general public.

Is this Anti-Electronic Cigarette Ad Campaign the beginning of the end for the vaping industry or will, as research seems to suggest, the general public ignore this and move in the exact opposite direction? There is a growing belief that these ultra-negative and “misleading” advertising campaigns could actually play into the hands of the electronic cigarette/vaping industry. We will see!

Mark Benson

For further information about electronic cigarettes please visit the OKCigs.co.uk website