FIVAPE is the inter-professional union for the French vape industry. It federates and defends the interests of independent players in the tobacco industry (statutory provision): e-liquid manufacturers, specialist stores and wholesalers.
FIVAPE offers its members a wide range of services and support, with solid partnerships and negotiated benefits. FIVAPE also defends the industry and its ethical and responsible vision of vape to the relevant authorities.
On behalf of its members, FIVAPE carries out a wide range of missions: regulatory, environmental, industry and legal monitoring, etc., in order to preserve and develop an industry that has been at the forefront of the fight against smoking for the past 10 years. As vaping is the most popular tool for quitting smoking, FIVAPE's commitment is to defend a responsible approach to vaping, and to prevent at all costs this solution from being put in the hands of the tobacco industry.
About us
Historically, vape companies independent of the tobacco industry were created by ex-smokers who discovered vaping on a personal level and then decided to make it their business, convinced of its breakthrough potential in the fight against smoking. This uniqueness has given rise to a unique set of ethics and values. French vape professionals are recognized the world over for their commitment, the quality of their products, their ability to innovate and their sincere support for smokers on the road to quitting. Several million French people have already quit smoking thanks to vapotage.
History
FIVAPE was created in 2013 (formerly CACE) to federate a totally new economic sector. From the outset, the notion of an industry (specialist retailers, manufacturers and wholesalers) was part of FIVAPE's DNA, as it was keen to go beyond individual interests in order to come together to offer an alternative that meets the expectations of smokers wishing to quit with safe, controlled products. Today, independent vape represents 85% of the national market, and most of the e-liquids consumed in France are French. This is a source of pride and a fundamental guarantee of safety in the face of the opacity of the tobacco industry.
Office and Board of Directors
FIVAPE's Board of Directors is made up of entrepreneurs who are pioneers in the field of vaping, and who represent all areas of the industry. Members are elected every two years at an Ordinary General Meeting, with no limit on the number of terms they may serve. The Board is made up of a maximum of ten members, all of whom are corporate officers of a FIVAPE member company.
The office
Chairman
since March 16, 2015
Co-manager E-RAG THE FUU
Treasurer
since March 16, 2015
Manager OZONE SHOP
Corporate Secretary
since March 8, 2021
Managing Director POINT SMOKE
Board of Directors
Managing Director GAIATREND
Director
since March 8, 2021
Chairman LIPS FRANCE
Director
since March 8, 2021
Managing Director VAPOCLOPE
Director
since February 24, 2014
Managing Director N.Y' VAP
Director
since March 8, 2021
Co-Managing Director VDLV
Director
since February 24, 2014
Members
FIVAPE is an interprofessional union representing 790 entities, including independent retailers and industrial SMEs, some of which employ several hundred people.
The industry
In just a few years, French vape professionals have succeeded in establishing a complete and solid national industry, creating thousands of businesses and jobs in trade and industry, as well as in agriculture, with the development of tobacco plantations dedicated solely to the manufacture of French nicotine for vaping. Whereas tobacco products are 100% imported, with no information on origin for consumers, the French vaping industry guarantees them quality products that are highly controlled and comply with regulations and best practices.
With close to 15 million smokers, this solid industry, independent of the tobacco industry, is a considerable asset in the fight against smoking in France.
E-liquid manufacturers / equipment
France is home to the largest and most numerous e-liquid manufacturers in the world. It's a highly dynamic sector, based on the need for a highly diversified offering, particularly in terms of flavors, so that every smoker can have access to products that will help them quit smoking effectively and sustainably. Our manufacturers have production units, laboratories and quality departments worthy of cutting-edge industries.
On the equipment side, as in many areas of activity, production is essentially Chinese and imported, but there are also French SMEs focusing on mid- to high-end products.
Wholesalers
With a market worth over 1.2 billion euros and thousands of specialist stores throughout the country, wholesalers play a fundamental role in meeting the demand of over 4 million consumers, thanks to a solid, responsive supply chain. During the COVID crisis, French wholesalers demonstrated exceptional robustness and agility in providing services and deliveries to specialist stores recognized as "essential businesses", thus avoiding a massive return to smoking as a result of the health crisis.
Specialist retailers
Alongside the 23,000 tobacconists in France, there are almost 4,000 vape stores throughout the country. These specialist shops are 100% dedicated to helping smokers quit, and have become essential in supporting them on their weaning journey. Welcoming customers, assessing their needs, providing explanations and advising them on how to use vaping carefully and effectively are all part of their expertise, which requires them to devote an average of between 30 minutes and an hour to providing each "new vaper" with the right information, and to be available at all times for tailor-made follow-up. For over 15 years, independent retailers specializing in the sale of vaping products have contributed to the steepest and fastest decline in the number of smokers in the history of smoking in France: they are the largest risk-reduction network of its kind.
Online sales e-commerce
France is home to Europe's - and probably the world's - N°1 online retailers of vaping products. These e-commerce specialists ensure that a wide variety of products are available throughout France, with professionalism, speed and efficiency, to all consumers and, in particular, to those with reduced mobility or who are isolated. In this way, they enable many vapoteurs to avoid a relapse into smoking. In rural areas, online sales are also a "strategic" recourse for those who want to avoid confrontation with the product they're trying to quit smoking, tobacco, thus dispensing them from having to go to cigarette shops to buy e-liquid when they want to stop smoking.
Key figures
France is the only country in the world where the tobacco industry is unable to dominate the vaping market. For consumers, it's an essential safety and quality guarantee. For the country, it's an important and strategic creation of value and jobs.
The market
According to XERFI's most recent research report - Le marché de la cigarette électronique / décembre 2023 :
- The total vape market in France is worth 1.45 billion euros
- The market held by vape professionals independent of the tobacco industry is worth 1.2 billion euros, or 85%.
Concerning e-liquids consumed in France:
- 65-70% are French brands
- 20 to 25% are foreign brands
- 10 to 15% are brands owned by tobacco companies
Concerning distribution :
- 60% of sales in specialty stores
- 25% on the Internet
- 15% at tobacconists
The jobs
The vape industry directly employs over 10,000 people, and also contributes to around 10,000 indirect jobs.
In commerce and industry, the professions are very diverse and varied: manufacturing employees, logisticians and operators, transport, technical and quality services, administration, scientists, flavourists and laboratory employees, sales staff, salespeople, advisors, etc.
Defending France's independent vape industry is of paramount importance to FIVAPE, both for the preservation and development of the jobs it creates on a massive scale, and for the development and preservation of cutting-edge know-how.
Partnerships
FIVAPE relies on numerous partnerships to defend the industry and the practice of vaping as a recognized aid in the fight against smoking.
IEVA
The Independent European Vape Alliance, created in 2019, brings together vape trade associations independent of the tobacco industry across Europe, to lobby EU institutions. FIVAPE is a founding member of IEVA.
In the face of the historic tobacco lobbies, IEVA's missions contribute to the ethical and useful regulation of vaping for the safety of consumers and in the interests of public health. Committed to its independence from the tobacco industry, IEVA fights against obstacles to vaping and access to it for all smokers seeking an effective method of cessation (combating punitive taxes, defending flavor diversity, providing honest information based on science), while working to reduce the impact of vaping on the environment by promoting open and refillable vape.
AFNOR
The Association française de normalisation is France's representative to the International Organization for Standardization - ISO - and the European Committee for Standardization - CEN.
FIVAPE initiated the AFNOR standards and certifications for vaping products, which are a world first and serve as a benchmark for all manufacturers.
Available in English and French, the voluntary standard for electronic cigarettes and e-liquids has three components:
- XP D90-300-1: Requirements and test methods for electronic cigarettes
- XP D90-300-2: Requirements and test methods for e-liquids
- XP D90-300-3: Emission requirements and test methods
CDNA
FIVAPE is a member of the professional branch of the Non-Food Retail Trade (CDNA). Stores specializing in the sale of vaping products are covered by the relevant collective agreement (identifier 1517).
The CDNA trade association brings together various organizations and trades in the retail sector. Its role is to ensure social dialogue within the branch (employer and employee colleges), and to represent and defend the interests of its members in dealings with public authorities.
On behalf of its members, the CDNA defines the applicable collective agreement, branch agreements, wage scales, health and welfare obligations, employment policies, as well as employee training and redeployment. The union also carries out monitoring missions, reports and studies on the activities of its members.
Vapexpo
Every year, the VAPEXPO trade show brings together professionals in the vaping industry. As a long-standing partner of FIVAPE, very advantageous conditions are offered to its members who wish to exhibit, and all FIVAPE members benefit from free access to the entire show.
Training
FIVAPE recommends that its members provide their teams with ongoing training to help smokers quit, and that they rely on organizations independent of the tobacco industry.
AMZER GLAS - CIMVAPE
Certifying courses, OPCA / Qualiopi financing. Created and run by nicotine scientist Jacques Le Houezec, our training courses focus on working in the store to help smokers through in-depth knowledge of nicotine and the practice of vapotage.
HAPPESMOKE
Certification courses, OPCA / Qualiopi financing. Created by specialist retailers, the training courses are divided into several modules focusing on support for smokers and good sales practices in a specialist store.
Member services
FIVAPE offers its members a wide range of services and support to help them grow while securing their business in a complex and constantly changing regulatory landscape.
Support
Members can contact FIVAPE at any time via the website. Members of the office respond promptly and, if necessary, provide the most precise and complete documents or instructions to date.
In addition, FIVAPE organizes information webinars for members only, inviting experts on the subjects covered if necessary. A newsletter provides a permanent information watch on regulations, science, actions and events in the industry.
CM2C: mediation
CM2C is FIVAPE's partner for mediation with consumers. Under this agreement, FIVAPE members benefit from free registration with the CM2C's mediation services, a scheme that has been compulsory since January 1, 2016 for the amicable resolution of any potential dispute with a consumer. Their registration gives each member access to the national network of mediators specializing in dispute resolution in the commercial sector.
Label Vape Bleue
This label, reserved for FIVAPE member specialized stores, is based on a charter of voluntary commitments to good business practices. It covers several areas: ethics, product range, service, advice and support. The Vape Bleue banner is a distinctive label and a collective brand identifiable throughout France, reinforcing consumer confidence in professional expertise focused on smoking cessation.
For further information: contact us
Online Vape Reference
While the sale of tobacco is totally forbidden on the Internet, this is fortunately not the case for vaping products. However, the regulations set out in the French Public Health Code are very strict on product presentation (images and text). FIVAPE provides web players with the Vape en Ligne reference system, to distinguish the quality of their services.
On request, FIVAPE can also provide its members with a complete guide to best practice in online sales, which it strongly recommends all industry professionals apply.
ECOLOGIC
ECOLOGIC is a non-profit eco-organization approved by the French government to provide a collection and processing service for household and professional Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) in France.
A partnership signed with FIVAPE in 2019 enables its members to benefit from ECOLOGIC's services to meet their obligations, in particular financial participation in the recycling of their products, via highly advantageous negotiated conditions for responsive, high-quality support.
SCRELEC
SCRELEC is a state-approved, not-for-profit eco-organization. Its mission is to organize the collection and recycling of batteries.
FIVAPE's partnership with SCRELEC signed in 2018 makes it easier for its members to bring their business into line with regulations. The organization offers advice and support to facilitate administrative procedures and take advantage of a highly efficient collection system, backed by 25 years of experience.