EVENTS
BY RÓISÍN DELANEY
NEXT GENERATION NICOTINE DELIVERY
CONFERENCE, LONDON. NOVEMBER 13-14
The fifth instalment of the Next Generation Nicotine Delivery
Conference in London had a packed speakers schedule and the
attendance numbers reflected the growing interest this young
industry has in standards, regulation, innovation and trends.
The two-day intensive event was held at the Riverbank Park
Plaza Hotel, in view of the Palace of Westminster where a draft
Brexit deal was being debated. All the while across the Thames
sat a couple of hundred business people debating whether
Brexit would in turn have much of an effect on their industry. Like
heads of state, leading professionals in all sorts of vape-related
organisations and associations from around the world took a seat
at the table, voicing opinions about what the best direction for the
future of the trade.
As expected, Brexit, nic salts and CBD dominated conversation.
We’ve summed up the highlights of the 2018 event, as it heads
into its sixth year in 2019.
Raising the bar
There’s room for improvement where standards are concerned. A
group discussion on the current and future landscape of standards
within the industry took place on day two of this conference.
This included notable industry members who took on board the
considerations and viewpoints of the various professionals and
business owners among the audience. On this panel sat Neil
McCallum of JAC Vapour, Andrej Kuttruf of Evapo and Pierre-
146 | VM20
Marie Guitton of the
Cooperation Centre for
Scientific Research Relative
to Tobacco in France (CORESTA) and all three gentlemen were
in agreement that the industry as a whole can improve on its
standards.
Mr Kuttruff touched on the point that there may be opportunities
for self-regulation, calling on brands and manufacturers to take
further responsibility for their products. He said: “It’s good as an
industry to some extent to self-regulate. As an industry, we have
to do some growing up.”
He made the analogy of Elon Musk turning his attention from
regular petrol or diesel motors to electric cars, in demonstrating
the shift among Big Tobacco brands in turning their focus from
cigarettes to e-cigarettes in recent years. On the topic of branding,
marketing and the youth issue coming across the Atlantic from the
US, Mr Kuttruf added: “We have a massive perception problem,
one we have to address as an industry. What we don’t need is
a bad reputation.” On prospects after Brexit, Neil McCallum of
Scotland-based JAC Vapour said, “I don’t personally think Brexit
will have an impact on what we do.”
Burden of proof
Ronan Stafford, lead analyst with GlobalData Consumer,
addressed the room as the first speaker on day one. He outlined