LATEST ALERTS
Organisers of Next Generation Nicotine Delivery USA 2020 are still expecting the event to take place as scheduled on 29th-30th April at the JW Marriott Los Angeles, despite rising fears over the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak and official restrictions imposed in response.
The Global Forum on Nicotine is still scheduled to go ahead on 11th-13th June in Warsaw, Poland too – though it may become a virtual event.
“At present, we are planning that the GFN conference will take place in Warsaw, or as an online event with video streaming and live Q&A audience participation,” a spokesperson for the conference told TobaccoIntelligence.
However, a number of vaping events that were scheduled to take place this spring at locations around the world have been called off or postponed.
The Pure Vape exhibition, originally scheduled for 14th and 15th March in Munich, Germany was cancelled by the organisers, who cited “negative press coverage, which has worsened the economic situation of many retailers and exhibitors”.
“Many retailers and manufacturers have not yet recovered from the slump in sales at the end of 2019 and are currently considering not taking part in the large number of steam fairs this year, which is an economically understandable decision” they said on the event’s website, adding that “under these conditions we cannot guarantee our exhibitors and our audience the usual high level of our fair”.
Postponements to dates as yet unknown
Meanwhile, the New York Vapevent 2020 convention, scheduled for 26th and 27th March, has been postponed to a later date, a spokesperson for the organisers told TobaccoIntelligence.
“The pending regulation in the US and especially in New York State and the COVID-19 led us to take this decision. We hope to be able to reschedule soon,” they said, without citing a date.
In China, the Shenzhen e-Cig Expo 2020, in the calendar for 24th-26th April at the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Centre, has been postponed. The organisers, Informa Markets, explained this was “due to the novel coronavirus proliferation concerns” and “in line with the efforts by the Chinese government to control and limit the spread of this infectious disease”.
The event’s official website said organisers “continue to monitor the developing situation and remain in close communication with the relevant local government bodies and other key stakeholders to reschedule the event”. The new date will be announced through the IECIE website once confirmed.
Events as far off as May are set to be affected by the coronavirus pandemic as well.
The UKVIA 2020 Forum, scheduled for 20th May 20 in London, may be rescheduled, the UK Vaping Industry Association told TobaccoIntelligence.
“We have been monitoring events in the past couple of weeks and there is now a very high likelihood that we will reschedule the Forum to later in the year,” an association spokesperson said, adding that a final decision would be made later this week.
– Beatrice Bedeschi TobaccoIntelligence contributing writer
