Blu (electronic cigarette)

Blu was launched in May 2009 by Australian entrepreneur Jason Healy and other investors in Charlotte, North Carolina.{{cite web|url=http://www.businessnc.com/articles/2013-03/vapor-trails-category/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905101503/http://www.businessnc.com/articles/2013-03/vapor-trails-category/|archive-date=2015-09-05|title=Business North Carolina - March 2013: cover story|date=2015-09-05|access-date=2017-10-09}} Jason Healy is the founder and former president of Blu.{{Cite web | url=https://www.fastcompany.com/1748493/e-cig-maker-develops-foursquare-style-check-hookup-hunting-nicotine-addicts | title=E-Cig Maker Develops Foursquare-Style Check-In for Hookup Hunting Nicotine Addicts| date=2011-04-19}} Healy called Blu "a lifestyle brand for smokers".{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-20583902 |title=Electronic cigarettes challenge anti-smoking efforts|publisher=BBC News Online|author=Daniel Nasaw|date=5 December 2012}} Lorillard Tobacco Company purchased the BluCigs brand for an estimated $135 million in April 2012 and expanded into the UK market by taking over the existing Skycig brand for $48.5 million.{{cn|date=June 2023}} This made them the first of the Big Tobacco companies to enter into the e-cigarette market.{{cite news|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2014/07/15/feeling-blu-e-cig-company-spun-off-in-major-tobacco-deal.html|title=Feeling Blu? E-cig company spun off in major tobacco deal|first= Dan|last=Mangan|work=CNBC|date=15 July 2014}}

File:Blu Cigs - E-Cig - Vaping (24914268451).jpg

Skycig was dissolved in March 2014 as Lorillard announced that all of its products would be sold under the Blu brand.{{cite news|url=https://www.designweek.co.uk/issues/march-2014/electronic-cigarette-company-skycig-becomes-Blu-ecig/|title=Electronic cigarette company Skycig becomes Blu eCig - Design Week|date=2014-03-26|work=Design Week|access-date=2017-10-09|language=en-US}} Blu eCigs was criticized for selling the company. All the posts on the Blu eCigs' website criticizing the company were removed.{{cite news|url=http://www.businessnc.com/articles/2013-03/vapor-trails-category/ |title=Vapor trails |first=Ken |last=Otterbourg |publisher=Business North Carolina |date=March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905101503/http://www.businessnc.com/articles/2013-03/vapor-trails-category/ |archive-date=2015-09-05 }} Blu eCigs went from 10,000 to 136,000 retailers selling Blu after Lorillard acquired the brand.{{cite journal|last1=Giovenco|first1=Daniel P.|last2=Hammond|first2=David|last3=Corey|first3=Catherine G.|last4=Ambrose|first4=Bridget K.|last5=Delnevo|first5=Cristine D.|title=E-Cigarette Market Trends in Traditional U.S. Retail Channels, 2012–2013|journal=Nicotine & Tobacco Research|volume=17|issue=10|year=2015|pages=1279–1283|issn=1462-2203|doi=10.1093/ntr/ntu282|pmc=4683368|pmid=25542918}} Blu eCigs closed their Edinburgh site in 2015 in the US putting 55 jobs at risk.{{cite web|title=Jobs at risk as e-cig firm Blu shuts Edinburgh site|author=Gareth Mackie|work=The Scotsman|date=2015-08-26|access-date=2015-09-13|url=http://www.scotsman.com/business/retail/jobs-at-risk-as-e-cig-firm-Blu-shuts-edinburgh-site-1-3868069}}

When Lorillard was purchased by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, Blu was sold to Imperial Brands as part of a $7.1 billion deal between the two companies, to avoid any potential inquiries from antitrust regulators, as R.J. Reynolds Tobacco already owned the e-cig brand Vuse.{{cite news|url=https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/07/15/reynolds-american-to-buy-lorillard-for-27-4-billion/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_php=true&_type=blogs&_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=2|title=To Compete With Altria, Reynolds American Is Buying Lorillard|last=Bray|first=Michael J. de la Merced and Chad|work=DealBook|date=15 July 2014 |access-date=2017-10-09|language=en}}

In 2015 Blu eCigs' website stated, "our position is that electronic cigarettes are addicting."{{cite web| title = Health Department proposes indoor ban on e-cigarettes|author=John R. Roby|work=Pressconnects|date=14 August 2015|access-date=2015-09-13|url=http://www.pressconnects.com/story/news/local/2015/08/14/broome-ecigs-ban/31732469/}} In 2015 Blu eCigs was the second most popular e-cigarette brand in the US with sales of 23.6% dollar, 17.3% unit.{{cite news |last1=Vonder Haar |first1=Melissa |title=Nielsen: Electronic Cigarette Sales Growth Declines |url=https://www.cspdailynews.com/tobacco/nielsen-electronic-cigarette-sales-growth-declines |access-date=20 August 2020 |work=CSP Daily News |publisher=Winsight Media LLC |date=18 August 2015}} Blu sells its products in the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, France, Italy,{{cite news|date=8 April 2016|title=Fontem Venture's Blu Debuts Global Marketing Campaign|work=Convenience Store News|url=https://csnews.com/fontem-ventures-Blu-debuts-global-marketing-campaign}} Greece, and the Russian Federation.{{Citation needed|date=September 2019}}

In 2016, the e-cigarette brand JAI (also owned by Fontem Ventures{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/imperial-tobacco-ecigarette/imperial-tobacco-widens-e-cigarette-strategy-with-new-brand-idUSL6N0VE5JD20150204|title=Imperial Tobacco widens e-cigarette strategy with new brand agency|author=Martinne Geller|work=Reuters|date=4 February 2015}}) was discontinued to focus more attention on building the Blu brand of e-cigarettes.{{cite news|url=https://fr.vapingpost.com/fontem-ventures-abandonnerait-la-jai-pour-la-Blu/|title=Fontem Ventures abandonnerait la JAI pour la Blu {{!}} Vaping Post|date=2016-02-01|work=Vaping Post|access-date=2017-10-09|language=fr-FR}}

On 2 April 2022, the Food and Drug Administration issued a Marketing Denial Order (MDO) to Fontem US for its myBlu pod vape device and multiple flavors of refill pods.{{Cite journal |last=Products |first=Center for Tobacco |date=2022-08-11 |title=FDA Issues Marketing Denial Orders to Fontem US for myBlu Products |url=https://www.fda.gov/tobacco-products/ctp-newsroom/fda-issues-marketing-denial-orders-fontem-us-myBlu-products |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408153921/https://www.fda.gov/tobacco-products/ctp-newsroom/fda-issues-marketing-denial-orders-fontem-us-myblu-products |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 8, 2022 |journal=FDA |language=en}} The FDA determined that the applications lacked sufficient evidence to show that permitting the marketing of these products would be appropriate for the protection of the public health.

File:MyBlu Intense Flavors (44930988911).jpg

The myBlu product line was first launched in 2018,{{Cite web |title=Blu launches electronic vaping product MyBlu |url=https://drugstorenews.com/center-store/myBlu-electronic-vaping |access-date=2024-01-11 |website=Drug Store News |language=en}} and expanded to an extensive range including pod vaporizers, refillable vaporizers, and disposable electronic cigarettes. Users can vape either pre-filled liquidpods, pre-filled e-cigarette cartridges, or insert their own brand e-liquids. myBlu is recognizable by its simple, sleek design, targeting the adult public.

Depending on the market, Blu offers a variety of flavored and unflavored liquids. All markets include classic tobacco and menthol flavorings. In the United States of America, the FDA banned cigarettes with a characterizing flavor other than menthol in 2009 in the USA. As such, fruity flavors are not sold in the US but can be found in other markets outside the US.

Blu offers liquids with different nicotine levels. The offering starts at 0% and increases to liquids containing up to 4.5% nicotine, depending on the market.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

Blu eCigs were used in a health study involving other e-cigarette brands The study found that e-cigarette smoking and exposure to e-cigarette aerosol has risks of inducing gene-expression changes in bronchial airway epithelium in vitro although less severe than those of smoking conventional cigarettes. It further found that these changes were more pronounced in products containing nicotine than those without nicotine.{{cite journal| doi = 10.1093/toxsci/kfw198| issn = 1096-6080| volume = 155| issue = 1| pages = 248–257| last1 = Moses| first1 = Elizabeth| last2 = Wang| first2 = Teresa| last3 = Corbett| first3 = Sean| last4 = Jackson| first4 = George R.| last5 = Drizik| first5 = Eduard| last6 = Perdomo| first6 = Catalina| last7 = Perdomo| first7 = Claudia| last8 = Kleerup| first8 = Eric| last9 = Brooks| first9 = Daniel| last10 = O'Connor| first10 = George| last11 = Dubinett| first11 = Steven| last12 = Hayden| first12 = Patrick| last13 = Lenburg| first13 = Marc E.| last14 = Spira| first14 = Avrum| title = Molecular Impact of Electronic Cigarette Aerosol Exposure in Human Bronchial Epithelium| journal = Toxicological Sciences| date = January 2017|pmc=5216655|pmid=27701119}} A 2015 study found the average amount of copper in Blu eCigs aerosol was at 6.1 times higher than traditional cigarette smoke.{{cite journal|last1=Lerner|first1=Chad A.|last2=Sundar|first2=Isaac K.|last3=Watson|first3=Richard M.|last4=Elder|first4=Alison|last5=Jones|first5=Ryan|last6=Done|first6=Douglas|last7=Kurtzman|first7=Rachel|last8=Ossip|first8=Deborah J.|last9=Robinson|first9=Risa|last10=McIntosh|first10=Scott|last11=Rahman|first11=Irfan|title=Environmental health hazards of e-cigarettes and their components: Oxidants and copper in e-cigarette aerosols|journal=Environmental Pollution|volume=198|year=2015|pages=100–107|issn=0269-7491|doi=10.1016/j.envpol.2014.12.033|pmc=4323666|pmid=25577651|bibcode=2015EPoll.198..100L }} A 2014 study tested 55 chemicals in e-cigarette aerosol for both Blu and SKYCIG devices and found acrolein, acetaldehyde, and propionaldehyde at amounts 86 to 544 times less than in cigarette smoke.{{cite book|last1=Stratton|first1=Kathleen|last2=Kwan|first2=Leslie Y.|last3=Eaton|first3=David L.|url=https://www.nap.edu/resource/24952/012318ecigaretteHighlights.pdf|title=Public Health Consequences of E-Cigarettes|publisher=National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine|via=National Academies Press|pages=Chapter 5–21|date=January 2018|doi=10.17226/24952|pmid=29894118|isbn=978-0-309-46834-3}}

On September 12, 2018, the Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) issued letters to the manufacturers of the five top-selling national US e-cigarette brands, including Blu, that made up a vast majority of the products illegally sold to minors. The US FDA asked each company to submit to them within 60 days plans describing how they will address the widespread youth access and use of their products.

If they fail to do so, or if the plans do not appropriately address this issue, the US FDA will consider whether it would be appropriate to revisit the current policy that results in these products remaining on the market without a marketing order from the agency. This could mean requiring these brands to remove some or all of their flavored products that may be contributing to the rise in youth use from the market until they receive premarket authorization and otherwise meet all of their obligations under the law.{{cite web|url=https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm620184.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180912152343/https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm620184.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 12, 2018|title=FDA takes new steps to address epidemic of youth e-cigarette use, including a historic action against more than 1,300 retailers and 5 major manufacturers for their roles perpetuating youth access|publisher=United States Food and Drug Administration|date=12 September 2018}}{{PD-notice}}

Blu eCigs had the most advertising expenses, accounting for more than 75% of the entire e-cigarette advertising in 2012.{{cite journal|last1=Chu|first1=Kar-Hai|last2=Unger|first2=Jennifer B.|last3=Cruz|first3=Tess Boley|last4=Soto|first4=Daniel W.|title=Electronic Cigarettes on Twitter – Spreading the Appeal of Flavors|journal=Tobacco Regulatory Science|volume=1|issue=1|year=2015|pages=36–41|issn=2333-9748|doi=10.18001/TRS.1.1.4|pmc=5108448|pmid=27853734}} More than 60% of 2013 expenses were for Blu eCigs.{{cite journal|last1=Kornfield|first1=Rachel|last2=Huang|first2=Jidong|last3=Vera|first3=Lisa|last4=Emery|first4=Sherry L|title=Rapidly increasing promotional expenditures for e-cigarettes|journal=Tobacco Control|volume=24|issue=2|year=2015|pages=110–111|issn=0964-4563|doi=10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2014-051580|pmc=4214902|pmid=24789603}} In 2012 Blu was the first to launch a tv ad as an e-cigarette company in the United States of America. At this time, only television ads for cigarettes and smokeless tobacco were banned in the US. The advertisement included Stephen Dorff and was titled "Rise from the ashes". The message focused on vaping as an alternative to smoking.{{Cite web|title=Big Tobacco back on TV with e-cigarette ads|url=https://money.cnn.com/2013/06/11/news/companies/e-cigarette-tv/index.html|last=O'Toole|first=James|date=2013-06-11|website=CNNMoney|access-date=2020-05-04}} Between 2011 and 2013, around 4 out of 5 of the e-cigarette TV commercials were viewed by young people were from the Blu eCigs brand.{{cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-electronic-cigarette-tv-advertising-20140602-story.html|title=Teens and young adults confronted by more TV ads for e-cigarettes|author=Karen Kaplan|work=Los Angeles Times|date=2 June 2014}} Blu eCigs puts restrictions on advertising placement in order for viewers to consist of no less than 85% adults "in an effort to minimize any potential exposure to minors," according to a company statement.{{cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2014/06/02/e-cigarette-tv-ads-target-kids-study-finds/|title=E-Cigarette TV Ads Target Kids, Study Finds|author= Hope T. Jackson|work=ABC News|date=2 June 2014}}

Concerns arose from statistics that indicate minors who viewed e-cigarette TV commercials increased 250% from 2011 to 2013.{{cite news|url=http://mashable.com/2014/06/18/e-cigarette-brands-marketing/#dJE9.9e6_iq4|title=E-Cigarette Brands Battle to Keep Marketing Rights|author=Colin Daileda|publisher=Mashable|date=18 June 2014}} "In 2014, Lorillard's Blu eCigs ran a radio advertising campaign to oppose the effort to amend Los Angeles's existing smokefree law to include e-cigarettes. The campaign urged users to attend city council hearings and testify against the ordinance, and Blu eCigs retweeted posts, used similar hashtags to those of e-cigarette user groups and trade associations, and encouraged its followers to retweet these messages," according to a 2016 report.{{cite journal|last1=Cox|first1=Elizabeth|last2=Barry|first2=Rachel Ann|last3=Glantz|first3=Stanton|title=E-cigarette Policymaking by Local and State Governments: 2009-2014|journal=The Milbank Quarterly|volume=94|issue=3|year=2016|pages=520–596|issn=0887-378X|doi=10.1111/1468-0009.12212|pmid=27620685|pmc=5020143}}

In January 2017, Blu ran a "Cigarette Amnesty" campaign in the UK across three cities in which smokers were encouraged to throw their cigarette packets into a shredder.{{cite news|url=http://www.eventmagazine.co.uk/behind-scenes-Blu-hosts-cigarette-amnesty-pop-up/brands/article/1420121|title=Behind the scenes: Blu hosts cigarette amnesty pop-up|author=Hannah Ellison|date=9 January 2017}} In June 2017, Blu's parent company, Fontem Ventures, also ran a "Science Of Vaping" tour at the thecentre:mk in the UK which aimed to educate the public about e-cigarettes.{{cite news|url=http://www.mkfm.com/news/local-news/mayor-of-milton-keynes-officially-opens-science-of-vaping-tour/|title=Mayor of Milton Keynes officially opens Science of Vaping Tour|work=MKFM|date=23 June 2017}}

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Category:Electronic cigarette brands

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Category:2012 mergers and acquisitions