Greenwashing
I think Friends of the Earth just knew a greenwashing project when they saw one. Exxon's investment was a fig leaf, and nothing else; the project did not come to fruition, and was never intended to.
Vaping, on the other hand, has already been demonstrated to work, and I'm fine with the big players getting on board. I have a couple friends who smoke that I'd really like to see switch, because I want to have them around for a while.