The term “e-cigarette” was coined 14 years ago when nicotine vaporizers were first marketed. The hope was that this term would entice cigarette smokers to feel comfortable with these new-fangled devices. Since then, however, some consumers who vape nicotine have soured on that term. Perhaps it sounds too much like cigarettes.
The ideal name for a new thing should describe what it is and does. If possible, it should exclude things that are different. It should be embraced, or at least embraceable, by people who use that new thing, and it should not be imposed on them by people who are deeply skeptical about it. In addition, ideally, it should not be a mouthful.
The World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) branding effort to describe what most people call e-cigarettes (nicotine vaporizers) does not meet these criteria: “electronic nicotine delivery systems and electronic non-nicotine delivery systems” (ENDS/ENNDS).
