Vaping started as an activity that could be used as a lesser evil than smoking.
However, there is something to vaping that cannot be denied outright: its potential to bridge three generations closer. Each generation has their own separate reasons for wanting to vape and continuing to do so. For example, Baby Boomers are pursuing vaping as a means of “choosing the lesser of evils”. This is similar with the Generation X who are looking not to pass second-hand smoke to their children while around the house but still enjoying their activity of vaping.
Millennials, on the other hand, were the on the receiving end of the anti-smoking campaign to not smoke at all. This generation’s reasons is because it is more enjoyable with a variety of different flavors that vaping can offer them. In addition, the Millennial Generation see it to enjoy something that they care about while decreasing the harmful effects of vaping altogether.
Vaping, being a more affordable and better alternative compared to smoking combustible cigarettes has lead vaping to become a $2 billion industry.
Vaping does have the ability to bring generations together. However, the best way to bridge three separate generations together who experienced radically different upbringings is to clearly understand what is bringing each generation into vaping.
Baby Boomers and Vaping
As mentioned before, Baby Boomers are looking to not smoke anymore. Baby Boomers are looking to pursue a less harmful way to meet their smoking needs or even to stop smoking altogether. The anti-smoking campaign began when Baby Boomers were coming of age in their twenties. This means that it was already ingrained in their culture to smoke cigarettes like it was an everyday occurrence. However, that isn’t to say that Baby Boomers didn’t recognize the harmful effects of smoking.
It was the 1960’s that a Surgeon General’s Warning was introduced onto every cigarette box that had to be sold. Unable to stop smoking or failing to stop smoking numerous times, Baby Boomers turn to vaping as a less destructive way to enjoy smoking. In fact, it’s most Baby Boomers who enjoy e-cigarettes in contrast to 10% of Millennials who feel that e-cigarettes are for senior citizens.
Oddly enough, there is a shift now with the vaping market. It’s now Baby Boomers who are now owning the stores to sell vaping consumables to the Millennial and Generation X consumer base.
Generation X and Vaping
Generation X is the generation that is in the middle of the vaping transformation. While the Baby Boomers either got involved with vaping because they were initially curious or wanted to prolong their quality of life a bit longer, Generation X’s reasons for getting involved with vaping are more pragmatic.
Vaping is a way to avoid spreading the contagion among their children or anyone close to them. This is understandable, considering that Generation X is midlife: they are married, have children, or divorced.
Millennials and Vaping
The Millennial Generation were some of the early adopters of vaping when it was first introduced. One factor that is important to bear in mind that while the anti-smoking campaign started in the 1960’s when the Baby Boomers were coming of age, the Millennial Generation were born into it. This means that they are very well aware of the harmful effects of tobacco and what diseases can be lead from that.
With the understanding of that message that was constantly echo across the generation, it is understandable to why vaping took off the way that it did for the Millennial Generation.
Convergence of Generations and Vaping
With the understanding of why each generation is involved with vaping, it is understandable how to bridge three separate generations on the topic. Each generation does share a common ground: vaping is the ‘lesser evil’ in comparison to smoking combustible cigarettes.
Each generation with their own reasons to pursue vaping can create an industry that can outpace Big Tobacco – an industry of about $35 billion in annual sales – in ten years.
So, how to bridge together 3 generations closer to their goal? The best way to bridge three generations closer on vaping is to understand how each generation consumes their own media.
Generation Z is moving on to other channels such as Instagram and other forms of communication while the Millennials, Generation X, and Baby Boomers are established faithfully on these platforms such as Facebook.
This is how we can start bridging three generations together: by starting the conversation first with the question: “how did vaping improve your quality of life”.
