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We chat about an interesting case study in technology governance: the rise of vapes and the return of cigarettes. How do you create new markets for a product that is highly addictive but also extremely regulated (even banned)? The answer is to flaunt regulation, disrupt competitors, and create an image of coolness using social media influencers. Platforms like Uber learned their strategies from industries like big tobacco, and now the new crop of nicotine dealers are deploying the strategies of platforms like Uber.\n\n\u2022\u2022\u2022 The Vapes of Wrath https://www.npr.org/transcripts/1197959345 \n\u2022\u2022\u2022 Juul Is an Easy Target\u2014Let's Ban More Tech Products That Harm Us https://www.vice.com/en/article/qjk4q5/juul-is-an-easy-targetlets-ban-more-tech-products-that-harm-us \n\u2022\u2022\u2022 Why Uber and Lyft are taking a page out of big tobacco\u2019s playbook in labor law battle https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/sep/11/why-uber-and-lyft-are-taking-a-page-out-of-big-tobaccos-playbook-in-labor-law-battle \n\u2022\u2022\u2022 Government waters down vaping ban to win support of Greens https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-06-24/vaping-ban-watered-down-greens-support/104016012\n\u2022\u2022\u2022 How Big Tobacco enlists Black activists to fight menthol, vaping bans https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2024/06/21/menthol-ban-vaping-black-lgbt-activists/ \n\u2022\u2022\u2022 Big Tobacco Heralds a Healthier World While Fighting Its Arrival https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/06/health/tobacco-fda-menthol-ban-nicotine.html \n\u2022\u2022\u2022 A Viral Cigarette Brand? In 2023? https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/24/style/hestia-cigarettes-downtown.html \n\u2022\u2022\u2022 That Cloud of Smoke Is Not a Mirage https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/12/style/smoking-cigarettes-comeback.html \n\nSubscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! https://www.patreon.com/thismachinekills \n\nHosted by Jathan Sadowski (www.twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (www.twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (www.twitter.com/braunestahl)