ANDS, a trademark owner and distributor of alternative nicotine delivery systems, including vapes, has opened its first vaping room at Rafik Hariri airport in Beirut.
The firm said the exclusive vaping room complements its growth strategy in the travel retail sector, with plans to open similar vaping spaces in other airports across the Middle East.
The company, which has recently opened its new European headquarters in London, said it is also looking to introduce vaping rooms in British and European airports.
The company already serves major retailers, including Lagardère Group, Gebr Heinemann and Dufry in airports in the Middle East as well as in Europe at Frankfurt and Vienna airports.
“Vaping is becoming popular among adult smokers looking for alternatives to their conventional combustible cigarettes,” Arnaud Piorkowski, head of ANDS travel retail business, said.
“There are around 82 million vapers worldwide, including 4.3m in the UK alone. However, until now they have been forced to use smoking lounges in airports, exposing them to a product that many are trying to get away from.”
“Our first vaping rooms have been welcomed by many adult travellers, and we are offering to install vaping rooms and lounges in other airports in order to provide vapers with a smoke-free space.”
The rooms, which take around a month to build and come with special ventilation and indoor air quality measures, can be custom-built according to the required shape and size.
In the UK, the firm had said that it would be selling its own product range to supermarkets, convenience stores and specialist vape stores, besides retail outlets in the main airports across the country.
