page_title: Electronic cigarette and e-cigarette liquid marketing
section_title: Sponsorship of events
hierarchical_section_title: Electronic cigarette and e-cigarette liquid marketing / Methods and claims / Sponsorship of events
caption_attribution_description: English: E-cigarette sponsorship of an event, photograph from the January 2015 California Department of Public Health's State Health Officer's Report on E-Cigarettes.
context_page_description: Electronic cigarettes are marketed to smoking and non-smoking men, women, and children as being safer than traditional cigarettes. E-cigarette businesses have considerably accelerated their marketing spending. All of the large tobacco businesses are engaging in the marketing of e-cigarettes. For the majority of the large tobacco businesses these products are quickly becoming a substantial part of the total advertising spending. E-cigarette businesses have a vested interest in maximizing the number of long-term product users. The entrance of traditional transnational tobacco businesses in the marketing of such products is a serious threat to restricting tobacco use. E-cigarette businesses have been using intensive marketing strategies like those used to publicize traditional cigarettes in the 1950s and 1960s. While advertising of tobacco products is banned in most countries, television and radio e-cigarette advertising in several countries may be indirectly encouraging traditional cigarette use.
  E-cigarette advertisements have had marketing messages containing pseudoscientific health claims.
context_section_description: Sponsoring sporting events such as football, motor racing, golf, powerboat, and superbike racing are used as promotional tools for e-cigarettes. A 2014 US Congressional report indicted that e-cigarette manufacturers had sponsored or handed out e-cigarette products at a considerable number of youth-oriented events, such as baseball games and at a Six Flags amusement park. Most of the events discussed in the 2014 US Congressional report appear to be at bars, big concerts, and music festivals. NJOY sponsored the fall 2013 Fashion Week, the 2013 London Fashion Week, and the 2013 New York Fashion Week.
  E-cigarette businesses have partnered with a number of sports events to promote their products. In May 2011, it was announced that Green Smoke sponsored a NASCAR driver. E-cigarette businesses have sponsored events such as the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. R. J. Reynolds was the sponsor of the "Kool Jazz Festival" but has moved on to sponsor other various public events. In 2013, a football field in Wales was renamed 'The Cigg-e Stadium' following the club's agreement to a three-year partnership with the e-cigarette brand. Nicolites sponsored the Birmingham City Football Club for the 2013–14 season. E-Lites obtained partnership agreements and specified spaces for e-cigarette use in the Celtic and Rangers football stadiums in 2013. E-Lites sponsored the British Superbike Championship in 2013 and 2014.
  After the Master Settlement Agreement in 1998, sponsorship of events with a significant youth audience, such as concerts and athletic events, was banned for traditional cigarettes. However, e-cigarettes do not fall under these parameters, and recalling the early marketing of traditional cigarettes, e-cigarette brands have used sponsorships to increase the awareness and appeal of their label and product. For example, in 2011 blu sponsored a NASCAR driver and had its own car in some races. Additionally, blu has handed out free samples during large events and has even sponsored events at music festivals. blu sponsored the Bonnaroo Music Festival in 2013. Further, conservative estimates indicate that in 2012 and 2013, free samples were provided by six e-cigarette businesses at 348 events, most of these events having high participation by youth. Under the US FDA Deeming Rule published in May 2016 (under litigation in 2016), free samples were banned.
caption: An e-cigarette sponsorship of an event.[83]
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