Johannesburg - The Vaping Industry Conference has established itself as a neutral environment for scientists, policy makers, medical and public health professionals and stakeholders to come together and look at the latest scientific research and evidence on e-cigarettes and debate their impact.
This year's conference is to be held at the Sandton Radisson Blu on Thursday, August 2.
The Vaping Conference will be at the forefront of taking forward the scientific and public health debate around e-cigarettes and broader harm reduction debates.
The conference welcomes scientists, public health professionals and policy makers from around the world who are looking to establish their own regulatory framework in the face of new nicotine products.
Alongside the latest evidence on the safety of e-cigarettes for users and bystanders, The Vaping Conference will continue to address broader debates including creating an industry standard to not sell any related products to anyone under 18, including via advertising and marketing.
The role that e-cigarettes could play in ending or extending the smoking epidemic will remain one of the most fiercely fought debates in public health history.
For governments and policy makers/advisors, the weight of making the right decision cannot be underestimated. From outright bans, advertising restrictions to higher taxation; the way that each country introduces, interprets and implements legislation, including consumer and medical licensing routes, will have far-reaching consequences.
Setting the regulatory bar at the correct level, will be vital to harnessing the opportunities that e-cigarettes and reduced harm nicotine products could offer while remaining responsive to a tobacco control manifesto to reduce smoking related harm.
What questions will be explored?
The Vaping Conference will include high level briefings from experts and encourages interaction through panel debates and open floor discussions. Questions will be explored in a balanced and objective environment allowing attendees to build their knowledge and share their viewpoints. The conference will explore the latest research and evidence on the following areas:
- The continuum of harm reduction and different policy/regulatory approaches
- E-cigarette safety and research
- Nicotine health impacts, including addiction
- Heat not burn and e-cigarettes – similarities and differences
- Are there health risks through second-hand vapour for non-users?
- If e-cigarettes are so good, why aren’t all smokers using them?
Who should attend?
In particular, this event will be relevant to:
- Regulators and policy advisors
- Scientific/research community
- Smoking cessation practitioners/services
- Health providers, health charities and health campaigners
- Local Authorities and Environmental Health
- Public health professionals and academics
- Medical and health professionals
- e-cigarette industry and broader stakeholders groups