NEWS
VAPERS SHARE THEIR
STORIES ONLINE AND
AT OUR VAPOUROUND
STORES ON NATIONAL
NO SMOKING DAY
BY GORDON STRIBLING
The first National No Smoking Day took place on Ash Wednesday
in 1984. At that time, around 40% of the population smoked. Since
then, millions of successful quit attempts have been attributed to
the campaign. In 2011 alone, 225,000 smokers in London and the
south east managed to successfully quit smoking on
No Smoking Day.
The UK’s smoking rate is at an all-time low of 15.8%. The only
European country with a smaller proportion of daily smokers is
Sweden, where tobacco consumers have largely switched to snus.
While there are fewer smokers in the country than ever before,
the fight to eradicate smoking is far from over. No Smoking Day
continues to play a key role in raising awareness of the damage
caused by cigarettes and the tobacco industry.
On March 14, Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) and north-
eastern tobacco-control program Fresh teamed up to promote No
Smoking Day 2018. Former smokers were encouraged to share
their quitting stories on social media with the #TellUsYourWay
hashtag. Many people attributed their success to e-cigarettes and
the support found in vape shops around the country.
These stories echoed the findings of a report published earlier this
year, which found that vape shop staff provide effective behavioural
support that has helped millions of smokers to quit. In response
to the study, Martin Dockrell, tobacco control programme lead at
PHE, said,
“Specialist vape shops have valuable expertise and product
knowledge to offer smokers who want to quit with the help of an
e-cigarette. We’ve seen some great examples of these retailers
working in partnership with their local stop smoking service to offer
smokers a wrap-around package, with tailored behavioural support
and practical advice on choosing the right product and getting the
best out of it.”
As an added incentive for people considering quitting on No
Smoking Day, Vapouround’s lounges and stores offered smokers a
free 10ml bottle of e-liquid with the purchase of any starter kit. Staff
also handed out a NHS Smokefree informational wheel provided
by Public Health England that broke down the savings and the
health benefits quitting could have on their lives. Meanwhile, the
social media team encouraged vapers to tag their smoking friends
with a chance to win one of five starter kits and Lik salt-based
nicotine e-liquids.
As many of the testimonies showed, there is no one-size-fits-
all approach to successfully quitting smoking. Even those who
have previously tried and failed to quit with e-cigarettes may have
succeeded had they accessed the support available at vape lounges
and stores. Without well-informed face-to-face advice, some vapers
are at risk of slipping back into bad habits.
Carla is a regular customer at our flagship lounge in Derby city
centre. She was in her 20s when she first started smoking.