[30] In 2020, advocacy groups that are indirectly funded by Philip Morris International through the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World are putting out information that contradicts public health officials that are stating that the effect from the use of e-cigarettes is unknown as well as their potential for causing harm.

[66] The ethical onus then falls on governments to restrict the influence of industry through appropriate regulations targeting product manufacturing, availability, and use, devised in light of public health interests, a 2016 review stated.

[66] In 2014, the World Health Organization released a statement encouraging government bodies to restrict e-cigarette promotion and sponsorship, including ensuring that any advertisement does not target youth, non-smokers, or people not using nicotine.

[73] Other claims made in e-cigarette advertising have been used in the past by traditional cigarette brands (such as having fewer carcinogens, lower risk of tobacco-related disease) or by smokeless tobacco products (such as the ability to use them where smoking is prohibited).

[112] As part of their multimillion-dollar advertisement campaign for the Juul device, the company had a vividly colored billboard displayed in Times Square and a featured spread in the July issue of Vice magazine.

[115] Concerns have been expressed in relation to the youngness of the men and women depicted in the Juul advertisements along with the design of the device, which critics maintain gives a false impression with regard to the possibility of addiction.

[144] The objective of the tobacco firms is to maintain their sales by using marketing tactics that de-emphasize the harms and focus attention on e-cigarettes as a "much safer alternative" to traditional cigarettes while publicizing flavors that are enticing to children.

[48] E-cigarette businesses commonly promote that their products contain only water, nicotine, glycerin, propylene glycol, and flavoring but this assertion is misleading as researchers have found differing amounts of heavy metals in the vapor, including chromium, nickel, tin, silver, cadmium, mercury, and aluminum.

[4] "Perceived and marketed as a 'healthier alternative' to conventional cigarettes, few data exist regarding the safety of these devices and their efficacy in harm reduction and treatment of tobacco dependence; even less is known about their overall impact on population health," a 2014 review stated.

Further, by using flavourings and branding strategies that appeal to young people, the industries involved in the manufacture and marketing of ENDS are employing tactics to expand their consumer base under the guise of contributing to public health work.

[194] In September 2008, the World Health Organization released a report, stating that "marketers should immediately remove from their web sites and other informational materials any suggestion that WHO considers it to be a safe and effective smoking cessation aid" because "WHO has no scientific evidence to confirm the product's safety and efficacy.

[201] Some research indicates much smaller proportions of e-cigarette advertisements are now endorsing these devices as quit aids, and cited reasons for use by vapers have significantly shifted away from smoking cessation toward use to increase social image.

[245] According to this study, vape shop owners and managers in Oklahoma used free samples, loyalty programs, sponsored events, direct mail, advertising through social media, and price promotions targeted at particular consumers, such as college students.

[247] Aaron Frazier, an e-cigarette user, had stated on Vapor Shark's Facebook page, "Showing Santa vaping, globally recognized as a children's icon, is irresponsible and is and will be seen as a ploy to appeal to underage customers.

[137] In 2018, the Forum of International Respiratory Societies released a position statement, stating "Electronic cigarette manufacturers employ diverse and creative strategies to target marketing to adolescents and teens despite widespread bans on the sale of these products to persons less than 18 years of age.

This rise may be due to in part to targeted marketing that includes advertisements, sponsorships, and social media, not to mention an array of attractive flavors that mimic those of candies, desserts, and alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.

[2] A 2016 review found "The reasons for the increasing use of e-cigarettes by minors (persons between 12 and 17 years of age) may include robust marketing and advertising campaigns that showcase celebrities, popular activities, evocative images, and appealing flavors, such as cotton candy.

[44] In 2016, the relative absence of restrictions to date in the US has led e-cigarette marketing to permeate most media outlets through the likes of celebrity endorsements, images associated with youth culture, and statements encouraging consumers to reclaim lost freedoms.

[286] The US Surgeon General has concluded that e-cigarette marketing employs strategies similar to traditional cigarette advertising tactics that have been proven to appeal to youths, such as themes of romance, freedom, and rebellion; celebrity endorsements; and health claims.

[286] In addition, e-cigarettes are marketed and promoted using strategies that are not legally permissible for traditional cigarettes, including television, sports, and music event sponsorships, in-store self-service displays, and advertisements placed outside of brick-and-mortar businesses at children's eye level.

[298] In the largest coordinated enforcement effort in the FDA's history, the agency issued more than 1,300 warning letters and civil money penalty complaints (fines) to retailers who illegally sold Juul and other e-cigarette products to minors during a nationwide, undercover blitz of brick-and-mortar and online stores this summer.

[298] "Today, we asked five e-cigarette manufacturers to put forward plans to immediately and substantially reverse these trends, or face a potential decision by the FDA to reconsider extending the compliance dates for submission of premarket applications.

"[308] On September 9, the US FDA issued a warning letter to Juul for marketing unauthorized modified risk tobacco products by engaging in labeling, advertising, and/or other activities directed to consumers, including a presentation given to youth at a school.

[317] Juul's campaign, costing millions of dollars, titled "Vaporized" that depicted young people in billboards in Times Square and an overt advertisement in Vice magazine were emphasized in the complaints in all three lawsuits.

[326] In August 2019, a Park Ridge, Illinois teenager sued Juul Labs and Altria for "fraudulent and deceptive youth marketing business practices" that allegedly resulted in him developing an addition to nicotine.

[329] "The suggestion that only black market vape products are connected to vape-related deaths and illness is entirely inaccurate, if you ask two lawyers representing the mother of 18-year-old David Wakefield who suffered from asthma and died while fighting a two-year addiction to Juul Labs Inc.'s nicotine e-cigarettes," Alexis Keenan, a Yahoo!

[344] A 2018 report stated, "E-cigarette marketing strategies such as those observed at the 2017 World Vapor Expo echo earlier cigarette promotions infamously used by the tobacco industry to attract consumers, most notably teenagers.

[345] The US FDA stated in a warning letter to Virtue Vape, LLC on May 10, 2018, that the labeling and/or advertising of the Unicorn Cakes e-liquid causes it to imitate a food product, particularly one that is marketed toward, and/or appealing to, children.

[346] Given that the labeling and/or advertising on Unicorn Cakes e-liquid describes its nicotine content as 3 mg/mL, with a total volume of 120 mL, an accidental ingestion of slightly less than a teaspoon would reach the lower end of the fatal dose range for an average two-year-old.

[11] However, advertisers use indirect tactics such as affiliate marketing to circumvent that decision; claims about the products' health and safety profile and their role in smoking cessation may be commonplace on social networks despite the ruling.