E-cigarettes are now the most popular method for those looking to move away from traditional tobacco products, new information from The Smoking Study Toolkit has revealed. Compared to other aids used to quit smoking such as NRT and Champix, e-cigarette popularity as a cessation support has increased to nearly 40% in the past four years.
The STS has been collating important information regarding tobacco habits and cessation trends, including e-cigarettes, throughout the UK since 2011. Not only did their most recent findings show that the use of e-cigarettes is still rising, it has also shown that the worries that vaping could be a gateway to tobacco use for those that have not previously smoked are unfounded, with only 0.2% of the estimated 2.6 million e-cigarette users being non-smokers. Studies by the STS and ASH have also revealed that the vast majority of e-cigarettes users are long-term ex-smokers.
It is estimated that over 76,000 lives could be saved each year as a result of moving from cigarettes to electronic alternatives, with the current cost of treating smoke-related diseases to the NHS is 2bn annually, a figure which an increase in e-cigarette use as an alternative to tobacco could help reduce.
