New Ad Says You Should Convince Your Friends To Quit Smoking - And Pick Up E-Cigarettes Instead

E-cigarettes are new enough that no one really knows their health effects, but that has not stopped the controversial product from growing into a billion dollar industry last year.

And while e-cigarettes are undergoing increased scrutiny across the country, manufacturer NJoy has a new campaign selling them as a healthy alternative to cigarettes.

In the "Return the Favor" ad, we watch two best friends grow from goofy teenagers into sophisticated adults. After their relationship develops over many years, one hands his buddy an NJoy e-cigarette carton so that he can quit smoking, because "friends don't let friends smoke":

E-cigarette advertising remains largely unregulated in the United States, though companies are restricted from making health claims.

NJoy doesn't technically make a health claim in the ad, but a spokeswoman told AdAge that one was certainly implied, and that "We believe that the ad tells a great story that smokers and the friends of smokers will relate to, thus reflecting NJoy's commitment to only advertise to adult smokers."

Arcade Creative Group produced the campaign, which is taking advantage of cigarette smokers using the new year to kick their habit.

E-cigarettes are odorless, battery-powered nicotine vaporizers. While they do not contain the tar found in cigarettes, there is not enough information regarding nicotine vapor inhalation to determine whether or not it can cause cancer, or how much it increases a risk for a stroke or heart disease.