In the past two years, the number of individuals who have tried e-cigarettes has doubled, according to a new study by Imperial College London.
In the UK, the figures of those who had tried vaping went up from 8.9% in 2012 to 15.5% in 2014, and this is a trend that echoes across Europe, with the percentages across the continent rising from 7.2% to 11.6% over the same period. The majority of those using electronic devices were either current or former smokers, something that was confirmed by the Royal College of Physician recently, who concluded that e-cigarettes were not a gateway to smoking, and should be advocated as a legitimate tobacco cessation method.
Unfortunately, those who consider e-cigs as harmful have also risen: in 2014, 27% of Europeans put e-cigarettes on an equal par with traditional tobacco products, and sadly, this risen to 51%. Research from other bodies such as ASH supports the findings from the Royal College of Physicians in that e-cigarettes are a less harmful alternative to traditional tobacco, which is the leading cause of preventable death and illness in the country.
