New Survey Suggests ‘Juvenile’ Flavors Actually Appeal to Adult E-Cigarette Users
This may come as a shock to the majority of e-cigarette opponents, but yes, a new survey conducted by E-Cigarette Forum, the most popular online gathering spot for vapers, suggests fruit flavors are actually more appealing to adult e-cigarette users than tobacco.
One of the main arguments used to smear electronic cigarettes is that because of the wide variety of fruity and sweet e-liquid flavors, e-cigs are a gateway to smoking for children. At a Senate hearing, last month, Senator Jay Rockefeller flat out said e-cigarette companies were out to get minors hooked on nicotine. “I am an adult,” the West Virginia Democrat said. “Would I be attracted to Cherry Crush, Chocolate Treat, Peachy Keen, Vanilla Dreams? No, I wouldn’t.” Obviously, if this kind of flavors aren’t appealing to a 77-year-old American Senator, they couldn’t possibly appeal to any other adult. Did it matter that Jason Healy, founder of Blu eCigs, tried to offer a valid counter-argument by citing a customer survey that suggested “the average age of a cherry smoker in the high 40s”? No, it didn’t. In Rockefeller’s mind, these flavors are meant strictly for kids.
But, according to the finding of another survey recently released by the people at E-Cigarette Forum, Healy was right, most adults actually find these ‘juvenile’flavors appealing. The ECF survey, conducted in late June and early July, included 10,000 forum users, 78% of whom live in the United States. Respondents were aged between 18 and 65, with 78% of them between 22 and 54. When asked which flavor they use most, 22% of them said tobacco, with another 3% opting for menthol tobacco. That means three quarters of surveyed adults said they prefer flavors other than tobacco, including fruits (31%), desserts/bakery (19%) or Candy (4%). Approximately two thirds of respondents added that non-tobacco flavors were important in helping them give up cigarettes, which is exactly what another survey, published last December in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health indicated.
The ECF survey yielded other interesting data, like the fact that 89% of respondents smoked at least 10 tobacco cigarettes the day before switching to e-cigarettes. Considering 88% of those who took the survey said they were not currently smokers, we can assume electronic cigarettes helped them quit smoking.
There was also an interesting question included in the survey that asked vapers what they would do if electronic cigarettes or e-liquid were banned tomorrow. Around 79% of them said they “would turn to the black market”, while 14% said they would go back to smoking. This paints a pretty clear picture of what would happen if the FDA and other policy makers around the world decided to harshly regulate electronic cigarettes. Neither of these alternatives would improve public health, which is ultimately the main goal of these organizations.
It’s worth noting that the respondent base for this survey doesn’t really capture a representative sample for all vapers. Most of the e-cigarette users who access E-Cigarette Forum are experienced vapers who used advanced hardware, from mid-range eGo style vaporizers and mods, and not the disposable e-cigs commonly found in convenience stores and gas stations. The high success rate in quitting smoking is unlikely to be seen among broader groups of e-cigarette users who often use poor quality devices to give up conventional cigarettes.
My dad is 60. I started him on tobacco flavour but he now prefers strawberry.