The vaping industry will take centre stage in Dubai for the first international World Vape Show in 2020. Just five months ago, the official sale of e-cigarettes was outlawed in the UAE.
New regulation on the sale of registered products launched in April, opening the door for Dubai to host the region’s largest vaping trade event next June at the World Trade Centre.
An estimated 64 million people are expected to switch from traditional cigarettes to alternative nicotine delivery devices over the next three years, boosting the global industry by an estimated $53.4 billion by 2024.
Many businesses will be hoping to tap into that market at the three-day vaping expo from June 3.
“Before April, it was against the law for retailers in the UAE to sell e-cigarette products but now there are huge opportunities for both manufacturers and retailers to take advantage of,” said Steve Diprose, managing director at Quartz Business Media, organisers of the World Vape Show. “We have created this event to bring the industry together in a new market and to understand how suppliers can reach consumers.
“The show will help traders understand how the vaping category in-store can drive footfall, sales, and profits, and what we can learn from both specialist outlets and the big retailers.”
The safety of vaping products and other similar e-cigarette devices have been questioned recently after the first death potentially linked to vaping in America.
An Illinois man is recorded to have died from a lung illness doctors claim could be linked to e-cigarettes. According to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the death is one of almost 200 cases of similar respiratory problems with the only connection being e-cigarettes.
The American Vaping Association, however, said the illnesses were likely being caused by devices containing synthetic drugs like cannabis, and not nicotine. Although less harmful than conventional cigarettes, e-cigarettes still release harmful toxins when inhaled.
The long term health risks of such chemicals are largely unknown due to a lack of research over an extended period. Public Health England is one authority claiming e-cigarettes are 95 per cent less harmful than conventional smoking. Data published in the latest Tobacco Atlas report revealed there were almost 3,000 smoking related deaths in the UAE in 2016.
