Any interest in an AMA?

[Dansky98]

I know places like Reddit do a TON of AMA's ('ask me anything') where they have a celebrity, expert, or anyone with a unique subset of knowledge or a unique experience, and then allow users to ask that individual all kinds of questions.

I used to work in the marketing department of a tobacco and vape retailer. (specifically, I was a designer there.) Would anyone find that helpful/interesting? Would there be an interest in asking about the inner workings of tobacco marketing, etc? I'd be 100% willing to disclose as much info as I can, though I would prefer to not disclose the name of the company I worked for, for legal purposes. 

I worked there for about 2 years (around 2013-2015) and hated almost every second of it. I only took the job because it was the only job i could find in my field right out of college, and I needed it in order to build my portfolio. I learned a lot about the way that industry works and operates- a lot of which is unsurprisingly problematic and/or shady. I'd be willing to do an AMA if anyone is interested?

[CommunityAdmin]

Moved this to Conversations‌ so it get's more visibility.

[Giulia]

Definitely interested.  Knowledge is power.  I guess my first question would be why did you hate working there?

[Dansky98]

First and foremost, the pay was TERRIBLE. They also didn’t provide health insurance for full time employees, which isn’t surprising, considering most people there smoked or vaped, and smokers are generally more expensive to cover! Most of the employees in the shops were paid minimum wage, and while they couldn’t specifically SAY that you had to be a vaper (though, they often told their employees that anyway.) they flat out didn’t hire anyone who didn’t use a vape of some kind. Using their device was a regular part of their daily job. There were also lots of other issues that weren’t smoking specific- ex, inexperienced marketing director, poorly managed projects, illegal use of copyrighted images, etc. 

The other big factor for me was the culture they pushed.  I worked there around the time that heavily modded devices were the most popular. The more compact, easy to use devices like juul weren’t as popular. Most of the vaping industry is poorly regulated, but those heavily modded devices were... next level dangerous. Employees in the retail stores were poorly trained on how to use them at all, let alone how to use them safely. To top it all off- they regularly held ‘cloud competitions’ at their retail locations. These were huge events where around 100 people or more would come to compete. Two people would stand back to back next to a wall that would measurements on it. Contestants were competing to see who could exhale the longest vapor cloud. I’d say on average, the winners usually landed somewhere between 10-12ft. There were lots of prizes, but even the 1st place prize was entirely vape related- they won a ton eliquid (eliquid prizes were ALWAYS that company’s brand, which were the ‘knock off’ equivalents, and were made with less than desirable chemicals. Even the COLOR of the eliquid didn’t look right.) they also won various ecig devices/modification accessories, and first place won a $500 gift card to any of that company’s locations. 

There was an entire culture and community that they created and contributed to. It was based purely on people helping each other modify their unregulated devices. They held social events all the time. The marketing materials always reflected this culture. All of the social media was heavily monitored so that anytime someone posted something negative about vaping to their wall etc, it would be removed. Even when someone posted something warning about certain batteries that the company didn’t even sell, the post was immediately removed. On top of that, there was a ton of misinformation that the company posted on their social media/website. 

[elvan]

Wow, I think it is incredibly generous for you to make this offer...I don't quite know what to ask.  I am guessing that it was difficult to work for them because of conscience?  

Ellen

[Dansky98]

Sort of. Ultimately, that’s what it boils down to. There was definitely a path to reaching that point though. Cigarettes were not usually the biggest portion of their profits. Only a few of their locations had higher sales in cigarettes and loose tobacco. (they had over 100 locations before I left and were opening at least 1 new location per month) 

The majority of their sales were in vape products and THC smoking devices/equipment. 

The point where my conscience really hit, was the nature of their products and the way they were produced/sourced. Entirely unregulated knock off versions of knock off versions of knock off versions. All exclusively obtained from Chinese factories. Stuff that cost them 12 cents would be sold in their shops for upwards of $50 and marketed as high tech, top of the line devices. If you only spend 12 cents on ANYTHING, even coming from China, that’s pretty much a guarantee that it won’t work correctly. The batteries they used were literally illegal in the United States. That kind of stuff... that weighed on me. A lot. 

[Dansky98]

Though, in full honesty, they did have one line of products that incredibly ethically sourced. A lot of their glass thc smoking devices (bongs, pipes, rigs/whatever you want to call them) were created by local glass blowers. While I don’t use any of those products, seeing some of these creations was probably one of the only things I enjoyed about that job. And the company paid those artists VERY well. Those artists were brilliantly talented and their work was intricate and incredible. 

Aside from that, everything else that company sold was more or less trash. Dangerous, expensive, trash. 

[elvan]

Thanks for all of that information.  I have seen some of those incredible blown glass bongs...they really are works of art.  I think the products that were bought for 12 cents MUST have been terrible.  I am really concerned about the number of kids using the vape products...just what they need, to become addicted to nicotine.  I am not as concerned about the THC although I understand that the deaths of people recently have involved THC in vaping devices...I am guessing the stuff is contaminated.  I am glad you are not there any more, what a mess that would be.

Ellen

[Dansky98]

The THC thing has some complications to it as well. They mentioned potential ‘contaminants’. This kind of comes back to the issue I mentioned in one of my responses below- using vague or ‘sort of’ true information that doesn’t paint the full picture can lead people to place blame inaccurately. The potential ‘contaminants’ in THC is a huge problem. No doubt there. A good question might be- where might those contaminants be coming from? THC-based vape products are only legal in a handful of states. People in states where they are NOT legal, still acquire and use them. So if we compare the products made by a licensed business that have at least some level of regulation in states where it’s legal- compared to- an individual creating these in their home and selling them illegally. A legitimate business vs. your local drug dealer. “Potential contaminants” is language that we would typically associate with a flaw in a legitimate product. It subtly implies these contaminants take place in manufacturing setting, rather than ‘That guy Greg down the street who sells your nephew weed sometimes.” That being said, it’s still possible that contaminants are taking place in those legitimate, semi regulated manufacturers. Again, it circles back to- we have to present full information, as unbiased as possible, and in a way that is as clear as possible. If someone stops using a THC vape they purchase from a legitimate manufacturer with a medical marajuana card, what effect does that have on their health? All important stuff to think about. Fair and accessible dissemination of information is crucial to providing opportunities for people to make informed decisions. Without that, the tactic mirrors that of tobacco lobbyists. 

Thanks, I appreciate that! I’m glad I made it out of there. I really needed the job at that point. I was wrapping up my last semester of college, and trying to find a job in my field was almost impossible. That company took advantage of that I believe- it’s like they KNEW working for a tobacco company’s marketing department was a low low place to be. They paid me about half the salary of what is average in my field. It’s as if they knew- ‘if someone is actually willing to work for a tobacco company, it’s because they’re desperate.’ Haha. 

A positive update though: I now work in the communications department of a Medicare/Medicaid insurance provider. I design easy to understand mailers, magazines, emails, etc- That teach people about their health. In fact, a number of the projects I work on are informational graphics that help inform people about adverse health effects of tobacco and nicotine, as well as informational brochures that get mailed out to doctors, explaining tips for how to talk to their patients about quitting, without coming across as judgemental. I’d like to think that the work I do at my current job helps make up for the work that I did with the tobacco company lol. 

[elvan]

You are a very gifted writer and reaching out to people as you are in your current job more than makes up for anything you may have done with the tobacco company.  How wonderful that you are helping to inform people about the consequences of tobacco and nicotine and seriously that you are giving tips to doctors and medical professionals to help them reach out to patients without judgement.  GREAT job!

Ellen