The vaporizer industry has a dirty little secret, and companies are hoping customers aren’t paying attention

When checking out the “next, greatest” vaporizer, exercise some caution, implores Cannabist vape critic Ben Livingston.

There may be more than what meets the eye.

The vaporizer industry has seen a proliferation of “white label” products — those in which a brand markets a generic item as its own — but also a flood of knock-offs, Livingston says.

“If you actually innovate a vape pen or a vape product, the odds are somebody else is just going to steal it,” he says. “The next round from China, from the factory, they’re going to reproduce that same model and they’re going to call it their own.”

Livingston stops by The Cannabist Show to talk with Cannabist editor-in-chief Ricardo Baca to share what he’s encountered and how some consumers might be misled by marketing efforts touting a “new and interesting and unique” product — when that vaporizer might not be unique at all.

“I have to do a lot of research, and when I have somebody actively trying to sell me a load of lies, like marketing speak, it’s harder for me to understand what’s going on,” Livingston says. “And I’m paid to try to filter through this stuff. Imagine if you weren’t.”

Watch the full episode of The Cannabist Show.