Kennedy Ryan David, Czaplicki Lauren, Moran Meghan Bridgid
Department of Health, Behavior, and Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, United States.
Institute for Global Tobacco Control, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, United States.
Tob Induc Dis. 2025 Aug 28;23. doi: 10.18332/tid/205762. eCollection 2025.
Some manufacturers of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) and liquids sell products with flavor names that use ambiguous terminology rather than explicitly characterize the product's flavor. These are often referred to as 'concept flavors'. This article presents a sample of ENDS concept flavor names to identify naming conventions the industry uses.
We reviewed 4546 English-language ENDS advertisements that ran in a variety of outlets including magazines, TV, radio, and direct-to-consumer emails, during the period 2015-2020. ENDS flavors in ads were identified and classified as 'concept' if the name contained no explicit characterizing flavor information. All concept flavor names were then reviewed by two coders to identify themes and practices used by ENDS manufacturers.
The sample identified 215 unique concept flavor names. We found examples of flavor names that were suggestive of food or drink such as 'Citra Zing', as well as flavor names suggestive of sensations associated with drug use, such as 'Blurred Vision'. Some other concept flavor themes identified included the use of colors ('Red Venom'), numbers ('No 42.'), words associated with mythology ('God Nectar'), tropical imagery (Hawaiian Rainbow), and pop culture ('Miami Vice'). Some naming practices included the creation of flavor names using a portmanteau ('Grappleberry'), flavor names that used intentional misspelling or satiric misspelling, ('Gritz', and 'Cap'n Crunk'), and the use of malapropisms ('ohm sweet ohm').
The tobacco industry uses concept flavor names, and these names are presented in advertising in the US. This article identified themes and naming practices for concept flavors. Future work may continue to monitor the use of concept flavors and if concept flavor names are used in response to flavor restrictions. Additionally, future research may explore if concept flavors themes are associated with perceived risk, use intentions and behavior.
一些电子尼古丁传送系统（ENDS）及电子烟液制造商销售的产品，其口味名称使用的是模糊术语，而非明确描述产品口味。这些通常被称为“概念口味”。本文展示了ENDS概念口味名称样本，以确定该行业使用的命名惯例。
我们回顾了2015年至2020年期间在各类渠道（包括杂志、电视、广播和直接面向消费者的电子邮件）投放的4546则英文ENDS广告。如果广告中的ENDS口味名称未包含明确的口味特征信息，则将其识别并归类为“概念口味”。然后，两名编码员对所有概念口味名称进行审查，以确定ENDS制造商使用的主题和做法。
样本中识别出215个独特的概念口味名称。我们发现了一些暗示食品或饮料的口味名称，如“柑橘活力”，以及暗示与吸毒相关感觉的口味名称，如“视线模糊”。其他识别出的概念口味主题包括颜色的使用（“红色毒液”）、数字（“42号”）、与神话相关的词汇（“神之甘露”）、热带意象（“夏威夷彩虹”）和流行文化（“迈阿密风云”）。一些命名做法包括使用混成词创造口味名称（“葡萄莓”）、故意拼错或讽刺性拼错的口味名称（“粗粒”和“克伦克船长”）以及使用用词错误（“欧姆甜甜欧姆”）。
烟草行业使用概念口味名称，且这些名称在美国的广告中出现。本文确定了概念口味的主题和命名做法。未来的工作可能会继续监测概念口味的使用情况，以及概念口味名称是否是为应对口味限制而使用。此外，未来的研究可以探讨概念口味主题是否与感知风险、使用意图和行为相关。
