This whole thing reminds me of Tipper Hire and the "Heavy Metal/profanity in music is destroying the American Child!!!!" Nonsense. Yeah, kids will see the names and cartoon outsides and want to try it, but it is OUR duty as their parents (and the adults in their lives) to steer them away from it all. This marketing bullshit is one way they can stick their hands in our pocketbooks and wallets, and get us to pay even more then we already are.
I live in California where a pack of Reds goes for nearly $9, and the price hike is all explained away by the "it's to pay for your future hospital needs/antismoking campaigns! We are taking care of you by doing this!! DONT YOU LOVE US YET?!?!?" ideals of the politicians who were paid off by the Smoking lobbists. The fact that vaping actually is SAFER then smoking isn't something they can wrap their minds about, and so they lob it into the smoking pile and call it a day .
I still remember when Joe Camel and the Marlboro Man were nixxed because they thought the characters "appealed too much" to children, and heavily influenced underage smokers/kids who didn't yet smoke but wanted to be as cool as the two smoking icons. Also, remember when Ciggie machines were done away with? Too easy for kids to buy from. (This has a point I swear!)
Because vaping is considered smoking by the State, the cartoon characters ARE a way for the gubermint to put their hands out and ask for moneys. They will crack down on the label makers and eventually the bright colors and cartoon-y mascots will die the way Joe Camel and the Marlboro Man did, and it will do about as much good to prevent vaping in children as getting rid of the aforementioned two smoking icons did for cigarettes. Which is not much if at all.
Sorry for long posting. But this is kind of interesting to me, seeing the sociological impact of advertising on people. Kind of feeling out, as it were.
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