Vapouround magazine ISSUE 17 | Page 150

EVENTS ADVOCACY AT THE EXPO: IBVTA How the trade show platform helps the industry’s strongest supporters - By Leo Forfar Regardless of which business you’re in, the best trade shows unite three key qualities in one location: business, pleasure and politics. Don’t let the third word fool you: in the vape trade, advocacy, lobbying, activism and action are a great success story for non-partisanship and cooperation for the common good across otherwise tribal lines. The Vaper Expo UK keeps ahead of the competition by providing space for the men and women who fight the good fight in the legal and political arenas of the world when the giveaways end, the music stops, and the lights die down. At every show, Vapouround make connecting with advocates a priority. Unsurprisingly, our first stop among these advocates was at booth B600, with the IBVTA. There we saw membership manager Garry Dibley, compliancy and external affairs executive Matthew Kersey, and interim chief executive Gillian Golden. Matthew was the representative who spoke to us. “As representatives of the independent 150 | VM17 industry, B2B days are very important to us. They’re among the best opportunities to get to know people within that industry who may not yet be members of our organisation. Even if they’ve heard of us, they may not be fully aware of what we can do for them. We don’t just help with business support; advocacy and lobbying are a huge part of our purpose. We inform potential partners of what we’re up to in Parliament, whether they want to sign up as members and if they have any potential ideas for us to help aid the independent industry.” A momentous, fast-paced month filled with surprises and great leaps is standard operating procedure in the vape trade. We’ve recently seen the emergence of HC Bill 59 from Sir Christopher Chope, explicitly asking “to exempt electronic cigarettes from UK law derived from the Tobacco Products Directive.” The Bill is scheduled for its second reading on June 18. As a Private Member’s Bill, it hasn’t been given much hope is not expected to pass. However, seeing such a thing reach the mainstream is a hopeful sign of progress and a confirmation that we have allies in high places. “We were happy to help Christopher Chope out by briefing him. He reached out to us, in fact, and in turn we presented him with the concerns of the independent industry. One of our biggest campaigns has been getting the voice of the vape industry heard in the Science