Four hundred and sixty brands of e-cigarettes and counting: implications for product regulation

Abstract

IntroductionE-cigarettes are largely unregulated and internet sales are substantial. This study examines how the online market for e-cigarettes has changed over time: in product design and in marketing messages appearing on websites.MethodsComprehensive internet searches of English-language websites from May–August 2012 and December 2013–January 2014 identified brands, models, flavours, nicotine strengths, ingredients and product claims. Brands were divided into older and newer groups (by the two searches) for comparison.ResultsBy January 2014 there were 466 brands (each with its own website) and 7764 unique flavours. In the 17 months between the searches, there was a net increase of 10.5 brands and 242 new flavours per month. Older brands were more likely than newer brands to offer cigalikes (86.9% vs 52.1%, p<0.01), and newer brands more likely to offer the more versatile eGos and mods (75.3% vs 57.8%, p<0.01). Older brands were significantly more likely to claim that they were healthier and cheaper than cigarettes, were good substitutes where smoking was banned and were effective smoking cessation aids. Newer brands offered more flavours per brand (49 vs 32, p<0.01) and were less likely to compare themselves with conventional cigarettes.ConclusionsThe number of e-cigarette brands is large and has been increasing. Older brands tend to highlight their advantages over conventional cigarettes while newer brands emphasise consumer choice in multiple flavours and product versatility. These results can serve as a benchmark for future research on the impact of upcoming regulations on product design and advertising messages of e-cigarettes.

Short‐Term E‐Cigarette Exposure Increases the Risk of Thrombogenesis and Enhances Platelet Function in Mice

“…Thus, key markers to be noted of this system are (1) the cotinine levels found in the plasma of our e‐cigarette–exposed mice (average of 53.97 ng/mL) overlaps with those observed in established human and animal e‐cigarette exposure models46, 47, 48 but undetectable in clean air samples, (2) which were obtained/observed using a device and an e‐liquid mixture that are widely used by humans34, 35, 36, 73 and (3) under real‐life puffing topography experimental conditions. 24–33 …”

“It's not smoke. It's not tar. It's not 4000 chemicals. Case closed”: Exploring attitudes, beliefs, and perceived social norms of e-cigarette use among adult users

“…As the diversity of e-cigarette device types available in the U.S. marketplace continues to grow (Zhu et al, 2014), understanding consumers' attitudes, beliefs, and perceived social norms surrounding these products is critical. The Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1991) posits that these factors are important antecedents to behavior; thus, exploring these constructs can illuminate their influence on tobacco use behavior.…”

“…The diversity of e-cigarette device types available to consumers on the Internet and in stores is rapidly increasing, with an estimated 460 brands and 7700 flavors available as of January, 2014 (Zhu et al, 2014). Although the early e-cigarettes looked similar to conventional cigarettes and were intended to mimic cigarette smoking (Cahn and Siegel, 2011;Etter and Bullen, 2011), products have evolved and now vary in shape and size, ranging from the cigarette-like devices ("cigalikes"), to "tanks" or "mods", which are larger and usually include a refillable "tank" for e-liquid (Farsalinos et al, 2014).…”

“…The extant literature on consumer perceptions of e-cigarettes is limited and focuses primarily on self-reported reasons for e-cigarette use (Adkison et al, 2013;Dawkins et al, 2013;Farsalinos et al, 2014;Goniewicz et al, 2013;Pepper et al, 2014;Richardson et al, 2014;Vickerman et al, 2013;Zhu et al, 2014), which is only one aspect of consumer perceptions. Based on survey data, frequently endorsed reasons for e-cigarette use include: aiding in conventional cigarette smoking cessation (Dawkins et al, 2013;Farsalinos et al, 2014;Pepper et al, 2014;Zhu et al, 2014); the ability to use e-cigarettes anywhere (Dawkins et al, 2013;Pepper et al, 2014); the limited amount of secondhand "smoke" produced (Farsalinos et al, 2014); and consumer perceptions of less harm than conventional cigarettes (Etter and Bullen, 2011;Pepper et al, 2014;Zhu et al, 2014).…”

“…Based on survey data, frequently endorsed reasons for e-cigarette use include: aiding in conventional cigarette smoking cessation (Dawkins et al, 2013;Farsalinos et al, 2014;Pepper et al, 2014;Zhu et al, 2014); the ability to use e-cigarettes anywhere (Dawkins et al, 2013;Pepper et al, 2014); the limited amount of secondhand "smoke" produced (Farsalinos et al, 2014); and consumer perceptions of less harm than conventional cigarettes (Etter and Bullen, 2011;Pepper et al, 2014;Zhu et al, 2014). A handful of studies have examined harm perceptions of e-cigarettes and have found that e-cigarettes are often perceived to be less addictive, as well as less harmful, than conventional cigarettes (Adkison et al, 2013;Choi and Forster, 2013;Pearson et al, 2012;Richardson et al, 2014).…”