Fewer vaping despite benefits

Charity Action on Smoking andHealth(ASH) todayreveals that the number of vapers in the East of England has fallen between 2019 and 2020, reflecting a national decline in the number of people using ecigarettes.

The charity warns that unfounded concerns about health risks from e-cigarettes maymeanthousandsofsmokers who could benefit from

completelyswitchingaremissing the chance.

The new figures come as experts publish an international review of the effectiveness of e-cigarettes in quitting smoking, finding that they are more effective at helping people quit than the standard medication for smokers: nicotine replacement therapy.

TheCochranereviewfound that e-cigarettes were 70 per cent more effective at helping smokers quit than the use of nicotine replacement therapy

Data from ASH’s annual survey withYouGovfoundthat in February/March2020there were3.2million e-cigarette users in Great Britain downfrom 3.6 million in 2019. In the East of England there are an estimated300,000vapersin2020, down from 310,000 in 2019.

Almost all users are smokers or ex-smokers, with use among never-smokers very low.

The charity points to a dis

appointing stagnation in the numbers of smokers who are using e-cigarettes given their proven impact on helping smokers quit.

There has been l i tt l e growth in the rate at which smokersusee-cigarettessince 2014. In 2020, 17.4 per cent of smokers were using an ecigarette, almost unchanged from 2014, when 17.6 per cent reported current use. Unfounded concerns about the relative safety of e-cigarettes are a likely cause – just 39 per cent of smokers in Great Britain correctly believe vaping is less harmful than smoking in 2020.

About a third of smokers have never even tried an ecigarette and less than 20 per cent are currently using one. If many more smokers could be encouraged to give e-cigarettes a go the latest evidence indicates that many more might successful quit.

Health professionals have animportantroletoplay. They can give smokers the confidence to try an e-cigarette, by letting them know that they can help them manage cravings and that they are a much safer alternative than continuing to smoke.

Deborah Arnott, Chief Executive of ASH