E-cigarette brand mocks tobacco control warning labels

It is a fact—new regulations are coming down the pike for e-cigarettes now that they fall under the FDA’s authority, as per the Deeming Rule enacted in August 2016. Ahead of new warning label requirements for e-cigarettes, one e-cigarette brand (Blu) has been poking fun at this tobacco control policy. Blu’s 2017 ‘Something Better’ print ad campaign prominently featured ad claims in the visual style of tobacco warning labels (‘Important: Contains flavor’; ‘Important: Vaping blu smells good’; ‘Important: No ashtrays needed’) (see figure 1). The fake and sarcastic ‘warnings’ are featured in large text boxes at the top of the ads, which ran in June–November 2017 issues of popular magazines including Esquire , ESPN , Rolling Stone and US Weekly . While e-cigarette ads are prohibited from making any overt claims that they are less harmful than tobacco cigarettes, some of the ‘warnings’ advertise other types of ‘harm-reduction’ benefits (eg, ‘Important: Less harmful to your wallet’).