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After the first day of the Tobacco Merchants Association Annual Meeting, I’ve already spent 10 hours hearing some extremely knowledgeable people talk about vaping. This year’s event is packed to the brim with interest and information on the products. So I hope I don’t sound like I’m complaining- this is incredibly exciting. Much like VapeBash 2 coming in with roughly triple the attendance of VapeBash, so much has changed in just one year.

At last year’s TMA, Klaus and I got to see an inkling of interest in the e-cigarette market. Lorillard had just purchased Blu Cigs and representatives from tobacco companies watched him vape a Blu at the dinner party with a sense of reserved wonderment. They were interested of course- the third largest tobacco company had just purchased an e-cigarette company for 150 million dollars. But most of the discussion at the event remained on other tobacco products, tobacco sales and how other reduced-harm products would fall under FDAs new MRTP guidelines. It seemed that this product without tobacco just didn’t belong. People looked at our PVs with that same sense of reservation, the kind anyone who has pulled out something like a Darwin in front of a bunch of smokers knows.

One year later, there are enough vapers here for the TMA Annual Meeting to appear as an impromptu vape meet at an unnecessarily opulent venue. The entire first day has been almost strictly e-cigarette talk and the next three days will have plenty still. Those who aren’t involved in e-cigarettes or vaping are now in admiration of the novel product. Financial analysts who last year may have been unsure of the importance of the ‘category’ now have a keen interest, wondering what effect the entrance of Altria and RJ Reynolds will have or whether big brands rumored to be sold off will be. The representation of new trade groups like AEMSA and SFATA, that did not exist one year ago, seem to have impressed the attendees here as much as the product itself. With them are labs lining up to get involved in e-cigarette quality control, testing and other services that may be necessary dependent upon what regulation brings.

Perhaps most important is the presentation of the success and potential of vaping by Joel Nitzkin, Riccardo Polosa and Konstantinos Farsalinos, with more to come later from Michael Siegel, Carl Phillips and Bill Godshall among others. Bill pointed out to me tonight that the real disappointment is that none of the people that should be here to see this are: FDA, the EU’s ENVI and so many public health officials and groups (or at least those who may have listened and learned).

Despite this, the overwhelming feeling from one day of this conference is that this is real. Of course, it’s always been real to us, it’s changed so many of our lives. But in a year’s time, it’s clearly become ‘a real thing’ to many others. The future, the next big thing, whatever cliche people choose to attach means that e-cigarettes are truly starting to change parts of the world they previously haven’t. The first presentation tomorrow is given by the Director of FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products and titled “The CTP: A New Beginning”- we’ll see what tomorrow brings.

Be sure to visit EcigAdvanced.com daily for updates, videos and content from this year’s TMA Annual Meeting.