FEATURE
FEATURE
For our two year anniversary issue we look back at where it all started for Vapouround
It began with nothing more than a teaser advert in the Derbyshire Guardian . Sandwiched between the tail end of stories on local business and the beginning of the ‘ What ’ s On ’ section was an enticing curiosity : a page in all black bearing the alluring image of a single V forged from ghostlike vapour . The only text was the words ‘ Coming Soon ’. The year was 2015 , the health risks of smoking had been known for decades , tobacco sales were on the decline and vaping was rapidly catching on as a far safer alternative than smoking for many . Vaping had overcome a few shaky false starts : smoking alternatives like nicotine patches and gum had long been on the scene but failed to make a significant mark of wresting control from the stranglehold of tobacco . The initial arrival of e-cigarettes into western countries was met with a tentative reception and regulatory uncertainty . They initially faced classification as a medicinal product , myths about liquid and mod safety ran rampant ( and often still do ) and
32 ISSUE 12 VAPOUROUND MAGAZINE scientific studies for such a young product were scarce . A booming scene and new powerhouse business needed a centrepiece publication where the alarm over coming challenges could be raised and its controversies could be discussed . Where there was a growing market with a sea of potential customers and the confusing , sometimes chaotic whirlwind of change afoot , there was a need for a prominent platform of relevant news , clear information and a solid international network . Vapouround satisfied all these areas , storming onto the vape scene as a publication for both the spoiled-for-choice consumers and young , rising businesses scattered about . We have written extensively about our ongoing partnership with the Vaper Expo UK and that has been a really successful model which has been repeated with other expos around the world . With the first Expo on the horizon in 2015 , the team that was to become Vapouround Magazine , put together a special pull-out newspaper supplement which was given free to every visitor to the show . It went down so well and proved to popular that there were many calls for us to produce a magazine dedicated to all things vape related and we wasted no time in doing exactly that . By the time Vapefest UK 2015 came around we had produced our first ever issue of Vapouround Magazine and it was launched at the event . Six weeks