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Big Tobacco is back on the airwaves.
More than four decades
on from the federal ban on cigarette ads for radio and television, some
of the nation's major tobacco producers are back on TV with spots
featuring e-cigarettes.
Blu eCigs, a subsidiary of
Lorillard (LO), kicked off an ad campaign in October with
television spots featuring actor Stephen Dorff.
R.J. Reynolds (RAI, Fortune 500) is planning TV ads for its Vuse e-cigarette beginning in August.
"This is rather remarkable in that it hasn't happened in about 40 years," said Richard Smith, a spokesman for R.J. Reynolds.
The government banned radio and television ads for cigarettes in 1970. Ads for smokeless tobacco were later banned in 1986.
E-cigarettes are smoke-free electronic products that turn nicotine and
other chemicals into vapor inhaled by the user. They've been pitched as
an alternative to tobacco for long-time smokers, and are seen as a
promising new revenue stream by some of the country's largest cigarette
producers.
"Our marketing is aimed at switching adult smokers
permanently to Vuse," Stephanie Cordisco, president of R.J. Reynolds
Vapor Company, told CNNMoney.
Related: The lucrative business of cigarette smuggling
Blu eCigs posted net first-quarter sales of $57 million, up 46% from
the last three months of 2012. Reynolds is in the process of expanding
Vuse distribution, and
Altria (MO, Fortune 500) -- formerly known as Philip Morris -- plans to release an e-cigarette product later this year.
Overall, e-cigarette sales could exceed $1 billion this year, blu eCigs
vice president of marketing Matt Coapman said, citing industry
analysts.
The Food and Drug Administration has yet to regulate
e-cigarette sales, though it is expected to do so. While the products
don't carry the harmful effects of tobacco smoke, the nicotine they
include remains highly addictive, and the companies make no claims about
their health benefits.
"Further research is needed to assess
the potential public health benefits and risks of electronic cigarettes
and other novel tobacco products," FDA spokeswoman Jenny Haliski said.
For now, e-cigarette sales are regulated at the state and local level, and Lorillard and Reynolds say they
support
restrictions on sales to minors. Both companies claim they've consulted
demographic studies to target their e-cigarette ads to adult television
viewers.
"We strongly believe the kids shouldn't have access
to these products," Reynolds spokesman Smith said. "We only intend to
market to adult tobacco consumers."
