Smokeless Cigarettes And Virtuous Vices

An interesting trend has developed over the past decade- one involving vices.  More than ever today, companies are utilizing technology to turn various vices into virtues- both because they can and also because modern consumers are far too busy and important to give up little indulgences.

Take smoking as an example.  Instead of giving it up entirely, contemporary consumers now have the option to purchase electronic cigarettes that offer the smoking experience (complete with LED tips that light up with your inhalation) without the high cost and nasty side-effects.  These electronic cigarettes (which now made in Japan, China, Europe, and the US) can be loaded with a wide range of cartridges, including ones infused with Vitamin C.  That’s right- the modern cigarette can even be healthy.

One can also observe this trend in food products.  Instead of giving up our favorite drinks, we have utilized food science to develop diet sodas and low-cal beers.  Instead of shoveling down fruits and veggies, we are chugging various juice and vegetable drinks that advertise themselves as offering all the fruit and vegetable servings we need.  Instead of giving up blueberry pie and other luscious desserts, we simply eat them in fat-free, Vitamin D-infused yogurt form.  The examples are unending.

Even video games, once seen as the ultimate time-wasters and obesity-inducers, are now becoming not only highly effective (and lucrative) educational and fitness tools, but also a means by which even professional athletes can improve their gaming skills.

What we can learn from this development is that:

1. Modern consumers are less willing to compromise when it comes to indulgences, but are happy to accept healthier alternatives
2. We have the technology and power to turn (at least to a certain extent) unhealthy, undesirable products and practices into favorable ones
3. Bad habits and unhealthy products offer great opportunities to those willing to develop alternatives that remove downsides without compromising benefits

So next time you scoff at someone’s dreadful habit, take a second ponder how you might convert that particular vice into a virtue.  You might just stumble on an entrepreneurial gold mine.

[image via Tofugu]