The Livery Newsletter and Gazette Issue 32 Spring 2020 | Page 29

Women in Tobacco Background to Women in Tobacco This document answers some of the questions we often get about WIT. This should help anyone considering becoming involved with the organisation. If you want to know more after reading the following information, please contact [email protected]. What is WIT? Women in Tobacco (WIT) is a registered, trademarked international membership organisation for women working in the tobacco and vaping industry. Founded in 2010, it now has over 450 members from more than 24 countries (Zimbabwe, USA, Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, UK, France, Switzerland, Denmark, Brazil, Australia, Cuba, Russia, South Africa, Turkey, Greece, Spain, Italy, Sri Lanka, Bulgaria, Colombia, China, Sweden and Finland). The purpose of WIT is business and social networking and mentoring. What does WIT do? WIT is the framework for women in the tobacco and vaping industry to network. We host between 4 and 8 events per year, each event attended by around 30 – 80 members. WIT’s events calendar creates opportunities for sharing best practice, discussing issues relevant to our industry, creating and improving links with suppliers/ customers, and mentoring. How can I get involved? Joining is simple! Anyone working within the tobacco industry can connect with Women in Tobacco through [email protected] & our LinkedIn group (https://www.linkedin.com/ groups/3904174). We recommend forecasting an annual planned budget for about four trips to London, with travel and accommodation costs appropriate to your usual company standards for business travel. We also have a number of people offering free overnight accommodation, to cut costs for those attending on their own account. 29 What should I expect at a WIT event? Newcomers to WIT will appreciate the warm welcome they receive from fellow members at our events, which are usually hosted by tobacco and vaping businesses in central London venues with refreshments provided. Each event typically has a guest speaker and a networking element, providing you with a chance to develop contacts throughout the organisation. WIT events are themed; either around issues specific to our industry such as the EU Tobacco Products Directive, illicit trade or harm reduction, or with a more general theme such as gender diversity, mentoring and sponsorship. What are the business benefits from WIT? The WIT network is a great platform for developing your contacts within the industry, improving your understanding of tobacco and vaping issues, and personal development through our speakers and mentors. How do you Join? It is free to join the Women in Tobacco mailing list, but we have an annual membership fee of £25, which entitles you to priority booking at all our events and helps to cover our running costs - details about payment of these are below. Our meetings are all free (unless otherwise stated) although we usually have a collection for the charity of choice of the speaker or the sponsor on the night. To try and keep costs low for our members, we have a number of members in the London area that can offer free accommodation for the night of the meeting for members from out of town.