Vapitaly news

Engagement, innovation and business: the ninth edition of Vapitaly has been a success, confirming the event as a national and international benchmark for the vaping world. From 10 to 12 May, Hall 18 of the BolognaFiere exhibition centre welcomed more than 5,000 visitors, with a significant rise in the number of industry professional, which this year accounted for 60% of the total, compared to around 30% recorded for the previous edition.

These numbers indicate that it was a wise choice to move the event to BolognaFiere: Bologna is a central, strategic location, also easily reachable from abroad.

“We are very pleased with the addition of Vapitaly to the BolognaFiere trade fair calendar,” said exhibition centre CEO Antonio Bruzzone. "The first edition held in Bologna has confirmed the value and potential of this event, in terms of both the quality of the products on show and the response of the industry professionals. Together with the organisers, we will continue our efforts to offer the sector an authoritative venue for engagement, updates and business.”

With more than 50 exhibitors present and thousands of products on show, Vapitaly 2025 hosted some of the most important Italian and international brands in the sector. A brand-new feature of this edition was the possibility for visitors to purchase more than 600 products directly at the show, from the “inFiera Sigarette Elettroniche” shop set up in the exhibition centre.

“60% of our 5,000 visitors were industry professionals in the sector, explained Vapitaly President Mosè Giacomello. Vapitaly has reconfirmed its status as an essential benchmark for the e-cig world, a sector that is continually growing, with around one and a half million users in Italy and a market value of over €750 million”.

Once again this year, Vapitaly has demonstrated its value as a place for learning and dialogue.

This edition was marked by two institutional events:

On Sunday 11 May, the conference “Riduzione del danno: lo stato dell’arte della ricerca scientifica in Italia” (Harm Reduction: the state of the art of scientific research in Italy) saw the participation of lecturers from the University of Catania and researchers from CoEHAR – Center of Excellence for the Acceleration of Harm Reduction, an international benchmark for independent research on vaping.

Moderated by Barbara Mennitti, publishing coordinator of Sigmagazine, the panel heard from Giovanni Li Volti, Massimo Caruso and Davide Campagna, who illustrated the results of a number of international studies demonstrating that vapes are 95% less toxic than traditional cigarettes.

On Monday 12 May, the trade fair came to an end with the conference “Normative e prospettive: il punto con le istituzioni” (Regulations and prospects: the situation with the institutions), which focused on the European directives on tobacco and tariffs.

The debate, moderated by Stefano Caliciuri, editor of Sigmagazine, saw the participation of executives from the Italian Customs and Monopolies Agency and the trade associations.

Institutional guests included the Honourable Virginio Merola, former Mayor of Bologna and member of the 6th Finance Commission, who noted that:

“The arrival of a new trade fair in the city is always a matter of pride, in particular for a former Mayor. The Commission is conducting a survey to find out more about the continually evolving world of trade fairs, with a view to establishing a regulatory framework and standardising procedures, designed to offer an important guarantee for industry professionals and consumers.”

Senator Marco Lisei also emphasised the importance of regulation:

“This is still a ‘new’ sector, which has made enormous progress in terms of product quality and safety, also thanks to the strict regulations and checks it is subjected to.”

At the end of the three-day event, President Giacomello confirmed the direction taken: “The move to Bologna has proved a strategic, winning choice. The number of professional visitors has grown, an effective dialogue has been maintained with the institutions, and the quality of the exhibitors and the attention paid by industry professionals in the sector all confirm that we are heading in the right direction.”

Vapitaly will be back in May 2026 with the 10th edition.

This important milestone will mark not only the consolidation of the event, but also a new stage of growth for the sector.