Adults Who Use E-Cigarettes to Quit Smoking Prefer Supposedly Juvenile Flavors

The New
York Times reports that
“more than 7,000 [e-cigarette] flavors are now available and, by
one estimate, nearly 250 more are being introduced every month.”
Critics often claim this proliferation of flavors shows the
industry is targeting children. In my latest
Forbes column, I cite new survey data that show the
critics are wrong to assume that nontobacco flavors appeal only to
kids. Here is how it starts:

At a Senate
hearing last month, Jay Rockefeller noted that electronic
cigarette fluid is available in a wide variety of
flavors—conclusive evidence, to his mind, that e-cigarette
companies want to hook children 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.”

Call it the Rockefeller Rule: If an e-cigarette flavor does not
appeal to this particular 77-year-old senator, it could not
possibly appeal to anyone older than 17. Rebutting that claim,
Jason Healy, founder and president of Blu eCigs, cited a customer
survey that found “the average age of a cherry smoker is in the
high 40s.” Survey
results released on Thursday by E-Cigarette
Forum, an online gathering spot for vaping enthusiasts,
reinforce Healy’s point, showing that grownups prefer the flavors
that Rockefeller insists are strictly for kids.

Read the whole thing.