Vaping results in more than half UK smokers quitting

A new study suggests that, for the first time, more than 50% of people in the UK who use electronic cigarettes have given up smoking tobacco.

The survey, which covered 12,000 adults, was commissioned by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH). It revealed that 1.5 million vape users are now ex-smokers, compared with the 1.3 million who are still smoking tobacco. Despite this, ASH said not all smokers were aware that vaping is significantly less harmful than smoking tobacco. In the UK, there are approximately 9 million smokers, even though there has been a huge increase in e-cigarette use. In 2012, there were 700,000 vapers. This year, there are 2.9 million.

The reason most ex-smokers turned to vaping was to help them quit smoking, they claimed. Current smokers use e-cigarettes to reduce their smoking levels. According to scientists, current evidence suggests that there is a low risk of exposure to toxins with e-cigarettes when compared to tobacco.

Use of e-cigarettes seems to have peaked because more than a third of those still smoking have not tried vaping because of concerns about the safety of the devices and their addictiveness. Other research suggests that 26% of people believe e-cigarettes are as harmful, or more harmful, than smoking tobacco. Only 13% believe that e-cigarettes are significantly less harmful than tobacco.

The chief executive of ASH, Deborah Arnott, commented, “It’s very important smokers realise that vaping is much, much less harmful than smoking.”