NEWS
E-CIGARETTES
HELP UK SMOKERS
QUIT
A recent study has found that almost one
million UK smokers used an e-cigarette
as opposed to prescription medicine or
behavioural support, to quit traditional
cigarettes.
Just under 40 per cent of the country’s
8.5 million adult smokers tried to give
up the habit in 2014 according to the
study from University College London.
Of those, 28.2 per cent (891,000) used
electronic cigarettes to help them stop
smoking.
Earlier research had suggested that
using an e-cigarette as an aid to quitting
smoking could increase the chances
of success by around 50 per cent
compared with using no support, nicotine
gum or skin patches.
The researchers said that the use of
e-cigs to help quit smoking had led to
an additional 22,000 people quitting
regular cigarettes - people who would
have failed to stop smoking had they not
turned to e-cigarettes.
Professor Robert West, who led the
research team, said: “E-cigarettes
appear to be helping a significant
number of smokers to stop who would
not have done otherwise - not as many
as some e-cigarette enthusiasts claim,
40 ISSUE 06 VAPOUROUND MAGAZINE
but a substantial number nonetheless.
“There have been claims by some public
health researchers that e-cigarettes
undermine quitting if smokers use them
just to cut down, and that they act as a
gateway into smoking.
“These claims stem from a
misunderstanding of what the evidence
can tell us at this stage, but this is clearly
something we need to watch carefully.'
Professor Peter Hajek, director of
the Tobacco Dependence
Research Unit at Queen
Mary University
of London, said:
“E-cigarettes
have a potential
to reduce
smoking related
morbidity and
many smokers
are successful
in making the switch from smoking to
vaping.
“Specialist smoking cessation services
are currently not offering e-cigarettes
and are seeing a marked decline in
interest.
“This is unfortunate, as it is likely that
even more smokers would switch to
vaping successfully if e-cigarettes were
combined with behavioural support that
the services provide.”