Over the last two years, the electronic cigarette has gained quite a bit of prominence in the fashion world. Electronic smoking products were seen all over fashion week shows in both 2012 and 2013, with the last show in New York even being heavily sponsored by a prominent e-cig brand. No surprises there. What’s more, there has always been an understanding that e-cigarettes are about more than just fashion; they are about health.
Now that the US FDA has issued its proposal for deeming regulations, the question of e-cigarettes as fashion accessories takes on a completely new meaning. As Boston University’s Dr Michael Siegel points out, the regulations will prevent e-cigarette companies from telling the truth about their products should they be enacted as currently worded. Dr Siegel explains that companies will not be able talk about health benefits, harm reduction or any other aspect that, in any way, promotes the products as being better than tobacco.
So what will marketers be left with? They will have no other choice than to advertise electronic cigarettes as fashion accessories. They will have to resort to ad campaigns featuring glamorous models wearing skimpy clothing, muscle bound beach bums vaping while playing volleyball, and perhaps even an animal mascot or two. They will have to associate their products with a more enjoyable lifestyle in the same vein as alcohol advertising.
That would indeed be a shame if it happens. By not being able to present e-cigarettes as a better alternative to smoking, companies will be handcuffed in their marketing efforts. That will mean a product that delegates to the 2013 E-Cigarette Summit said could save millions of lives every year not getting the attention it deserves among the smoke in public.
More Celebrity Endorsements
Opponents of electronic cigarettes have been roundly criticising celebrity endorsements ever since actress Katherine Heigl appeared on the David Letterman Show using her VAPESTICK e-cig a number of years ago. Others subject to similar criticism include Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Jenny McCarthy. But guess what will likely happen if the FDA regulations become permanent? E-cig companies will have to rely on more celebrity endorsements to get the message across.
I suspect there will be plenty of them willing to do it if the price is right. I also suspect that the biggest players in the e-cigarette industry will be the only ones who will have the money to pay out for big celebrity endorsements. That will also be a shame because it will inevitably turn the e-cigarette industry over to Big Tobacco at the expense of so many smaller companies; the companies that are truly responsible for bringing the products to Western markets.
However, the most disturbing thing of all is the fact that smokers will not be able to hear a message aimed at helping them make a better choice that could mean a real difference in their lives. They will have to make their choices based on perceptions of glamour, glitz, and image.
A Real-Life Style Change
Proponents of the e-cigarette cannot emphasize enough that the vaping lifestyle is not about looking good or being fashionable. It is about a lifestyle change that eliminates thousands of toxic chemicals and carcinogens by replacing tobacco with a product that does not involve combustion. Yes, modern e-cigarette devices may look sleek and sexy to some degree, but that is only to help one company compete against another. All of the companies combined would rather smokers choose another brand than keep smoking tobacco.
If there is any good news with the proposed FDA regulations it is that the language is only in the proposal stage. Consumers now have several months to respond with their own comments and recommendations. I hope that enough will speak out against the damaging aspects of the regulations to the extent that the FDA will change course.
Hidden Agenda
In his blog, Dr. Siegel hints at the idea of the FDA regulations being a big gift to the tobacco and pharmaceutical industries. His argument insists that downplaying the role of electronic cigarettes relieves the pharmaceutical industry – makers of approved nicotine replacement therapies – from having to compete while also giving tobacco companies the upper hand to control the market through deep pockets and established connections. None of this is right.
Smokers deserve the right to know the truth about any alternative product, be it an e-cigarette or a nicotine patch. To hide the truth behind onerous FDA regulations smells an awful lot like government action specifically designed to protect Big Tobacco and Big Pharma. There is nothing fashionable about that.
