A tale of two conferences
Wednesday, November 16, 2016 at 9:04 
Well, this is a bit ridiculous.
You wait all year for a conference on e-cigarettes and two come along ... on the same day.
Starting today at the Barbican in London is the third annual Next Generation Nicotine Delivery conference.
It's a two-day event so it will clash with the fourth annual E-Cigarette Summit that takes place at the Royal Society tomorrow.
I asked the organisers of the Next Generation conference why this had happened and they said other people had asked the same question.
And I still didn't get an answer.
I'm not sure if I would have gone to the E-Cigarette Summit (I didn't go last year, or the year before) but I don't have the option because I'm speaking at the Barbican event.
To be honest I was a little surprised to be asked. When I received the invitation to be on a panel entitled 'Gaining valuable insight into consumer needs and consumption of alternative nicotine delivery products', I replied:
I would be happy to take part if you want a slightly alternative viewpoint.
As someone who doesn't smoke or vape I can't bring any direct personal experience to the session so I would have to talk in more general terms, from a Forest perspective.
Although we primarily represent adults who choose to smoke combustible cigarettes, an increasing number of our supporters also use e-cigarettes (for a variety of reasons). Common sense dictates that we embrace and endorse any harm reduction product but most of all we advocate choice, an issue that is sometimes lost in the current debate.
Consequently we are a little uncomfortable with the evangelical nature of many pro-vaping advocates who in their enthusiasm for e-cigarettes are blind to the fact that many smokers don't like or aren't attracted to them.
Likewise at the e-cigarette conferences I've attended there seems to be a general incomprehension that more smokers don't want to switch. This attitude was reflected only last week by Mark Pawsey MP, chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on E-Cigarettes, who said he found it "mind-blogglingly incomprehensible" that, knowing the health risks, so many people continue to smoke combustibles.
As part of the session therefore I would like to address the reasons why so many smokers haven't switched to vaping, and why they shouldn't be forced to.
Also, most if not all of the vaping representatives at e-cigarette conferences tend to be ex-smoking vapers which makes them unrepresentative of many vapers, the majority of whom are (I believe) still dual users.
They are also unrepresentative in other ways – notably the type of products they use. We very much hope there is a niche for every product for which there is some consumer demand. Long-term however we believe that if the e-cigarette market is to grow substantially and attract more smokers to switch, the two essential factors will be cost and convenience.
Based on anecdotal evidence we also believe there are some aspects of the current pro-vaping advocacy that are actually driving some smokers away from e-cigarettes.
Overall I would be very positive about e-cigarettes and their role in harm reduction. At the same time however I'd like to raise issues involving current smokers (and potential vapers) that are often overlooked when pro-vaping advocates get together.
Speakers at Next Generation include Beryl Keeley, E-Cigarette Notification Scheme Lead (MHRA); James Murphy, head of Biosciences, British American Tobacco (BAT); Bo Edberg, former Senior Vice President, NJOY Electronic Cigarettes; Liam Humberstone, Technical Director, Totally Wicked; Dr Nveed Chaudhry, Manager Scientific Engagement, Philip Morris International (PMI); and Tom Pruen, Chief Scientific Officer, ECITA.
Chairing the event is John Fitzgerald, an "industry expert". (Declaration of interest: John has attended several Forest events including Smoke On The Water and The Freedom Dinner. I can therefore vouch for the fact that he is extremely open-minded and an all around good guy!)
In contrast the E-Cigarette Summit is full of anti-smoking academics and lobbyists including Robert West, Professor of Health Psychology and Director of Tobacco Studies, University College London; Marcus Munafò, Professor of Biological Psychology, University of Bristol, UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies (UKTAS); Martin Dockrell, formerly of ASH now Tobacco Control Programme Lead, Public Health England; Linda Bauld, Professor of Health Policy, University of Stirling, UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies (UKTAS) and Cancer Research UK; Deborah Arnott, CEO of ASH; and Anette Addison, Team Leader, Tobacco Control EU, Health and Wellbeing Division, Department of Health.
Tomorrow's event is chaired, again, by Ann McNeill, Professor of Tobacco Addiction, UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies (UKCTAS).
Yes, they are generally "pro-vaping" but they are universally anti-smoking as well. The E-Cigarette Summit is to all intents and purposes an anti-tobacco public health event. Unlike the Next Generation conference there's not a single tobacco industry speaker in sight. The companies will be represented in the audience, I'm sure, but it's hardly the same.
To be fair, I enjoyed the first E-Cigarette Summit in 2013 (I wrote about it here) but since then the core speakers have hardly changed and I find it hard to get excited about the thought of listening to Bauld, West, Arnott etc for the umpteenth time.
Whatever happens I shall be well out of my comfort zone at the Barbican. I'll let you know how I get on.
See also: The E-Cigarette Summit – another view (2013) and Why I'm not attending today's E-Cigarette Summit (2015).
Also: One cheer for the E-Cigarette Summit (Action on Consumer Choice, 2015).
Reader Comments (4)
I'd be interested if the 'Heat not Burn' products are featured or discussed at all at the conference. Here in Geneva, where the IQOS has been on sale for more than a year - anecdotal evidence seems to show vapers (former smokers) are giving up vaping and going for the HnB products. That is despite there is no real cost saving over conventional fags as the heat sticks are taxed at the same rate as fags. I think PMI are on to a strong winner with IQOS.
I believe hnb are the true next generation for smokers. Ecigs are next generation for quitters.
Wouldn't it be nice if smokers had a conference. However, I'll bet not even tobacco companies would attend if we did.
Please tell them Simon, we expect more from them and not least to accept that it is smokers and not antismokers who are their customers.
Like Pat Nurse, I too would like to see a series of Smoker's Conferences. Perhaps they could form the foundation for rolling back smoking bans and the overt persecution of smokers.
I too would be interested in hearing more discussion with regards to HnB products. I've been a long time fan of the idea and I truly believe in the potential of this technology.