Electronic cigarettes seriously starting to surge

Judging by the latest flurry of media reports, it appears that electronic cigarette supporters might be on the verge of being proven correct about the enormous potential of e-cigs and vaping.This recent electronic cigarette news has generally revolved around the topics of regulation, market and consumer acceptance, and the entry of all three major tobacco companies into the e-cig market.

Media coverage, commentary and social media over the last several years seriously questioned the legitimacy, direction, future and acceptance of electronic cigarettes. So, just how do electronic cigarettes move from being little more than a strange, obscure and unknown phenomenon to universal acceptance as a consumer product?

One interesting market connection made by several business experts and financial analysts is comparing electronic cigarettes to the recent huge growth of energy drinks, which were once perceived as out of the mainstream, but are now almost as accepted as soda or coffee. According to CPSnet.com, energy drink and shot sales grew 60 percent between 2008 and 2012, and totaled about $12.5 billion in 2012 with likely growth to $21.5 billion by 2017.

When it comes to oversight in the U.S., the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) currently considers electronic cigarettes along the lines of traditional tobacco, while state and local governments are looking at regulation and taxation issues.

Globally, countries are taking various routes on e-cig regulation. For example, a recent New York Times blog noted a battle between European regulators and retailers. While the British government is looking at e-cigs as medicinal, France might ban them in public and Italy would ban them in schools. Many e-cigs are actually manufactured in China, so it will be interesting to see how Asian countries move on regulation.

The Times’ blog noted that global e-cig sales increased 30 percent in each of the previous three years to around $2 billion in 2011 with the European market around $650 million, according to Euromonitor International. Retail sales of e-cigs in the U.S. reached $500 million last year. While that is only a small fraction of the overall tobacco market, those figures are rapidly increasing.

So far, the electronic cigarette industry has grown mainly through online websites and social media, but there is a steadily increasing retail presence, especially with the backing of major tobacco companies. Most forms of tobacco are sold in convenience stores as almost 40 percent of their revenues come from tobacco, but those numbers are dropping with fewer smokers and other competition.

Celebrities, entertainers and others have also helped promote electronic cigarettes. Early adopters a few years back like Leonardo Dicaprio, Katherine Heigl and Johnny Depp are certainly big names, but they didn’t seem to have much impact on the public acceptance of e-cigs.

More recently, it has been actual ads and investment by some lesser known celebs that might be bringing electronic cigarettes to the next level. Actor Stephen Dorff’s television ads for BluCigs, singer Bruno Mars and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs Sean Parker and Peter Thiel’s investment in NJoy, and musician/actress Courtney Love’s appropriately outrageous online ad for NJoy.

Financially, the major tobacco companies have finally joined the e-cig market. Lorillard saw electronic cigarette earnings increase with a specific reference to the previous $35 million purchase of Blu Cigs, Altria’s subsidiary Nu Mark recently announced plans to enter the e-cig market with the Mark Ten brand, and Reynolds American just launched its Vuse brand e-cigs.

Besides the high profile positive coverage of electronic cigarettes, there are stories appearing in other media outlets and even the online commentary reflect an anecdotal positive consumer reaction to e-cigs. As much as anything, it might just be these ex-smoker testimonials in the online comments in news stories and social media that show the strongest case for the benefits of electronic cigarettes.

E Cig Werks has followed and covered electronic cigarettes and the industry for almost three years with  34 posts, 10 brand reviews, and more than 1,400 Twitter followers while reading and commenting on more articles, columns and content that one can count.

Over that time, E Cig Werks has been one of many strong advocates of electronic cigarettes as a long-term product that can help consumers avoid tobacco, nicotine, odor and second-hand smoke.

While the future of electronic cigarettes looks pretty clear and bright now, there are still potential clouds of smoke regarding regulation, taxation and further public acceptance, but at least those clouds won’t smell.

White Cloud high in the e-cig sky

Electronic cigarettes are clearly gaining momentum in early 2013 and White Cloud e-cigs are up there with the best of them. E Cig Werks has sampled a variety of electronic cigarette products recently, so this review and profile of White Cloud electronic cigarettes is also a chance for some timely insight into the bigger picture of the electronic cigarette industry.

With a wide array of quality electronic cigarette products, accessories and flavors, White Cloud seems to be as versatile as any of the top e-cig brands in the marketplace. White Cloud has both high quality starter kits and disposable e-cigs. The Cirrus2 Starter kit we tried from White Cloud comes with two batteries, a charger, five cartridges and a carrying case going for $49.95 online and progresses up to a Phantom Kit with more batteries, charges, cartridges and premium case for $199.95. The batteries come in long and short sizes, white or brushed metal colors, and three different ash tip colors depending on preference.

White Cloud one-piece disposable electronic cigarettes come in the Fling brand with some 16 flavors now listed online, but more on that later. Online prices range from $5.95 for a single e-cig all the way up to $325 for a large quantity of 100.

While you might expect the draw or flavor quality of a disposable e-cigarette to be less than that of a rechargeable battery, White Cloud products seem pretty comparable, which is a good thing. One of the many advantages of e-cigs is their versatility, which includes differences between product functionality, but not necessarily in quality. Each Fling disposable provides about 300-400 puffs, according to White Cloud, while the cartridges on the two-piece Cirrus models equal about 40 traditional cigarettes.

In sampling the about 10 of White Cloud’s 16 flavor and strength levels, E Cig Werks concluded that the Apache,  Bora Bora, Kick and Espresso flavors were among the best. In particular, Espresso seemed most realistic and strong, while Kick and Bora Bora were very flavorful. Others like Vanilla and Moscow Male (kind of a strange, but appropriate name) were not really to my taste, but flavors can be especially subjective, which is probably why they have so many. White Cloud recently rolled out a new Cin (cinnamon) flavor for its Fling disposables. It’s starting to seem like good old Menthol gets lost in the shuffle with all these new e-cig flavors.

White Cloud labels their nicotine strength levels with appropriate letter codes and we tried Double Extra Strength (XX), which is their strongest and Full Strength (F), which is in the middle. White Cloud has lower nicotine levels and a nicotine-free option like some other brands.

Tarpon Springs, Fla.-based White Cloud emphasizes that their products, while using some components from China, are assembled on site here in the U.S. White Cloud’s website also provides clear and detailed description of its products, including one of the best graphics we’ve seen on how electronic cigarettes work.

Over the last few months, it seems that the public perception and media coverage of electronic cigarettes and vaping has been increasingly positive. Brands like White Cloud and others on the higher end of the e-cig market have been included in some of that coverage. Specifically, White Cloud was mentioned as a top brand in an October Forbes’ story on electronic cigarette growth which noted the company has experienced 77 percent growth since being founded by Michael Murray and Danielle and Matthew Steingraber in 2008.

Another area where White Cloud is among e-cig industry leaders is packaging and design. Their website provides colorful vapor jackets designs as well as NFL team tailgate accessory packs with color corresponding cases, battery and cartridge jackets. White Cloud also provides shot gun tips for those looking for more vapor and nicotine.

Besides a strong online presence with a recently redesigned website, White Cloud is available at retail locations in Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Illinois, while also looking at potential growth in the Nevada casino market.

Brands like White Cloud reflect well on the electronic cigarette industry as it continues to grow in popularity and increase acceptance.

88 lines about 44 e-cigs

E-cigs are the next big thing, smokin’ in a hi tech style.

Blu the color of the sky, ads with Stephen Dorff are cool.

Greensmoke seems organic, then again, aren’t they all.

V2 has a space age name, really smokes here on earth.

(humming)

Bedford Slims from NYC, handlebar mustachio.

Safe Cig is John Cameron’s deal, his bro has Titanic taste.

E Cigs Unlimited, name’s too long for this line.

South Beach Smoke, makes Miami free to vape.

(humming)

White Cloud keeps it high, in the sky with cool smokes.

American E-Liquid, lotta flavors from the States.

Metro has that city feel, in the stores and online.

Halo is so heavenly, angels might like this brand.

(humming)

Eversmoke lasts so long, orange tip looks like it’s lit.

Totally Wicked dual coil, cool cartoons on their site.

Johnson Creek has the Vea, Midwest flavors you can try.     

Electronic Cigarettes Inc., boring name, exciting cigs.

(humming)

Red Dragon puff this slogan, Arizona is their home.

Volcano blows its top, Inferno, Magma, Lavatube.

ProSmoke rates high, really not for amateurs.

Smoking Everywhere is the goal, planes, trains and some bars.

(humming)

NJoy should be good, see them in convenience stores.

Gamucci an Italian name, but comes from the UK.

E-Swishers aren’t cigars, now they’re e-cigs that are sweet

Logics are disposable, Power Series is their line.

(humming)

Vapor Corp. has several brands, Fifty-One smokes anywhere.

EonSmoke from New Jersey, lets you change more easily.

Big Bang is the bomb, starter kits and much more.

Divine Smoke party flavors, they’re from out east.

(humming)

Jet Cigs has the flavor, starter kits with cool pack.

ROK they’re from Britain, bloody well good e-cig.

Evolve is disposable, really nothing wrong with that.

Ecigarator is no danger, just hanging in the swamp.

(humming)

MadVapes are they crazy, we sure hope they’re not.

Ginger’s E-Juice has the flavor, American made all the way.

Virgin Vapor is organic, no more comment needed there.

Alice in Vapeland, Lewis Carroll might enjoy.

(humming)

Vape Dudes must abide, many cigs in their stock.

Pink Spot Vapors hit the spot, pretty in any style.

777 not the Sunset Strip, e-cigs with some luck.

Highbrow Vapor ye e-cig, really isn’t from the past.

(humming)

Solar Cigarette always sunny, always in Florida.

Really E-Cig comes from England, must be a smashing smoke.

21^st Century Smoke in the stores, and online if you must.

E Cig Werks, that is me, I choose myself to end this list.

Can electronic cigarettes recreate retro rebelliousness?

Try to remember the last time someone waxed poetic about the days when smoking cigarettes in coffee shops and bars was considered cool.

While it’s probably been a while, a recent Chicago Reader column by Tal Rosenberg lamented and lampooned how the 2008 Illinois smoking ban helped eliminate the once vibrant vibe of the Windy City’s coffee shop culture. On the same day, a Business Insider article predicted a possible bright and lucrative future for electronic cigarette advertising. A couple days later, the New York Times and Bloomberg Business ran stories on the growth of electronic cigarettes and their advertising.

The timing of these stories and comments got me thinking about whether electronic cigarettes could ever replace traditional cigarettes as an accepted social behavior with a tamer version of the once audacious act of smoking tobacco, or do the same in the mainstream advertising and marketing worlds.

Cigarette smokers have been relegated to the point where just catching a whiff of tobacco on the street sends one on a time warp to a Mad Men episode. It’s hard to believe there were times and places where smoking represented a sense of romantic rebelliousness such as Chicago in the ‘90s, Greenwich Village in the ‘60s, Casablanca in the ‘40s or Paris in the ‘20s. Yes, the times they are a changin’ at coffee houses around the world.

It’s certainly debatable whether smoking bans themselves, more health conscious attitudes or both are beating the drums of change at coffee shops, bars and other places formerly known for their smoky ambiance.   

As much criticism as smokers endure for their habit, they tend to be on the eccentric, independent and nomadic side, which fits right in with that old school coffee house culture.

However, as coffee houses and taverns move ever farther from their Bohemian roots, is there a chance that electronic cigarettes can be part of either a rebellious or acceptable future social consciousness?

Whether or not we want to admit it, our basic cultural behavior is often driven by advertising, public relations and now more by social media.  Much like the overall market for electronic cigarettes, brand and product advertising and marketing is currently very fragmented even though some major brands like Blu, Njoy and a few others might control larger market shares.

With all due respect to Blu Cigs with its Stephen Dorff ads and others, there just haven’t yet been enough major electronic cigarette advertising or high profile celebrity endorsements to generate significant public interest.  

That could be changing now as the New York Times and Bloomberg indicated that Njoy is launching a major ad campaign in the $12-14 million range covering cable and local television, print, online, social media and public relations. A major breakthrough for e-cig advertising will come when ads appear on national broadcast networks.

Some of the latest numbers from the electronic cigarette world include an estimated 3.5 million users in the United States from the Tobacco Electronic Cigarette Association with sales of $500 million from Bonnie Herzog, tobacco analyst for Wells Fargo Securities, whose increasing media profile as an electronic cigarette market source is another sign of the industry’s growth.

Herzog estimates U.S. annual e-cigarette sales are now about $500 million while tobacco cigarettes are about $1 billion. She and others have compared the current e-cigarette market to where energy drinks were several years ago before dramatically taking off.

The fine line that electronic cigarette marketers have been walking might be widening when it comes to claims of being a “healthier” alternative to traditional cigarettes as some ads are using language like “Rise from the ashes” for Blu or “Cigarettes, you’ve met your match” for Njoy or “Make the switch today and change your life” from SouthBeach Smoke.

While those taglines might have “come a long way baby” from old school cigarettes ads like “Winston tastes good like a cigarette should” or “Come to Marlboro country,” they show that advertising will likely drive the growth of electronic cigarettes as a mainstream product.