BOSTON – When Dorian Fuhrman's 14-year-old son Phillip and a friend came home from school one day, what they told her made her furious."They said, 'you know, something very strange happened today,'" Fuhman said. "And after talking a little bit with them, we also were stunned." Fuhrman's son told her a representative from a vape company came to their school during a drug and alcohol prevention assembly, promoting the product as "completely safe." Since the rates of teens vaping have doubled since 2017, the marketing tactics of vape companies are facing a congressional probe and at least two separate investigations from attorneys general in Massachusetts and Florida. Critics have questioned how aggressively they have marketed to teens. DOZENS OF MIDWEST TEENS WHO REPORTED VAPING HOSPITALIZED WITH 'SEVERE LUNG INJURY,' BREATHING PROBLEMS "We knew that our sons were doing it and their friends were doing it and it was becoming widespread," Dorian Fuhrman said. "But after this incident, we really couldn't sit by." The epidemic has caused numerous lung injuries, killing 33 people so far, and sickening hundreds. Researchers say what was once advertised as a way to get cigarette smokers off their bad habit has become the first step in causing young addiction. (Elina Shirazi) She and another parent at the school launched an organization called Parents Against Vaping eCigs, leading a rallying cry of parents who say their teens were targetted by the e-cigarette industry. Last week, she testified before Congress calling for tougher regulations of the industry. "They targeted kids where they lived, on social media," Fuhrman said. "They hired influencers. They threw parties. They really started this." A July congressional report found that Juul Labs had spent more than $200,000 to hire trendy Instagrammers and other influencers to reach teens on their feeds. Last week, a study found that bots on social media accounted for nearly 80% of the talk about vaping on social media. CDC CORRECTS NUMBER OF VAPING-LINKED LUNG ILLNESS CASES David Gerzof Richard, a marketing professor at Emerson College, said the tobacco industry is adapting old tactics for the digital age. "They were regulated out of being able to advertise on traditional media, things like billboards, magazine ads, TV ads. Those were suddenly off the table," Gerzof Richard said. "So what they did is they readjusted on to digital media, specifically social media, and they went into a very targeted approach." Gerzof Richard said as regulators failed to keep with the digital age, the companies targeted their social media ads to zip codes and age groups. But he argues that traditional big tobacco tactics like producing flavors that taste like candy have also helped to entice a younger market. Last month, President Trump pledged to ban the sale of flavored e-cigarettes. First Lady Melania Trump also hosted a listening session with a group of teens at the White House last week about the epidemic. "I am de
Vape industry faces growing scrutiny for marketing tactics geared toward teens
BOSTON – When Dorian Fuhrman's 14-year-old son Phillip and a friend came home from school one day, what they told her made her furious."They said, 'you know, something very strange happened today,'" Fuhman said. "And after talking a little bit with them, we also were stunned." Fuhrman's son told her a representative from a vape company came to their school during a drug and alcohol prevention assembly, promoting the product as "completely safe." Since the rates of teens vaping have doubled since 2017, the marketing tactics of vape companies are facing a congressional probe and at least two separate investigations from attorneys general in Massachusetts and Florida. Critics have questioned how aggressively they have marketed to teens. DOZENS OF MIDWEST TEENS WHO REPORTED VAPING HOSPITALIZED WITH 'SEVERE LUNG INJURY,' BREATHING PROBLEMS "We knew that our sons were doing it and their friends were doing it and it was becoming widespread," Dorian Fuhrman said. "But after this incident, we really couldn't sit by." The epidemic has caused numerous lung injuries, killing 33 people so far, and sickening hundreds. Researchers say what was once advertised as a way to get cigarette smokers off their bad habit has become the first step in causing young addiction. (Elina Shirazi) She and another parent at the school launched an organization called Parents Against Vaping eCigs, leading a rallying cry of parents who say their teens were targetted by the e-cigarette industry. Last week, she testified before Congress calling for tougher regulations of the industry. "They targeted kids where they lived, on social media," Fuhrman said. "They hired influencers. They threw parties. They really started this." A July congressional report found that Juul Labs had spent more than $200,000 to hire trendy Instagrammers and other influencers to reach teens on their feeds. Last week, a study found that bots on social media accounted for nearly 80% of the talk about vaping on social media. CDC CORRECTS NUMBER OF VAPING-LINKED LUNG ILLNESS CASES David Gerzof Richard, a marketing professor at Emerson College, said the tobacco industry is adapting old tactics for the digital age. "They were regulated out of being able to advertise on traditional media, things like billboards, magazine ads, TV ads. Those were suddenly off the table," Gerzof Richard said. "So what they did is they readjusted on to digital media, specifically social media, and they went into a very targeted approach." Gerzof Richard said as regulators failed to keep with the digital age, the companies targeted their social media ads to zip codes and age groups. But he argues that traditional big tobacco tactics like producing flavors that taste like candy have also helped to entice a younger market. Last month, President Trump pledged to ban the sale of flavored e-cigarettes. First Lady Melania Trump also hosted a listening session with a group of teens at the White House last week about the epidemic. "I am de
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