The UK Government is urging smokers to make the switch to safer and healthier e-cigarettes as it says vaping saves lives and the science proves it!
The latest Public Health England independent study into all things vape, concludes e-cigarettes are the very best and safest way to quit smoking, and shows that around 75% of smokers making the switch, succeeded thanks to vaping!
The UK Government is now on a drive to convince even more smokers to switch to vaping, and wants to see an end to the endless fake news scare stories centered around all things vape that could be costing smokers lives.
The PHE study takes a incredibly detailed look at all things vape, and when the numbers are crunched, they do not lie – vaping saves lives, it’s that simple.
In a quite remarkable statement, the UK Government report also points out that if a smoker wants to quit, nicotine replacement therapies, such as patches gums and sprays, are nowhere near as effective as an e-cigarette adding:
PHE’s advice remains that smokers should switch to vaping products to help them quit smoking, but non-smokers should not take up vaping.
Wow! Suck on that Big Pharma! No wonder they want it banned…
Now that’s what you call a science and government backed vote of confidence for vaping as a harm reduction tool…as I said quite remarkable!
And it’s something the world of vaping has known for a long time – I wrote about it back in October last year: Vape To Quit Smoking – It’s Better Than Patches and Gums Say Experts.
OK, as you can see I’m a little excited by this bombshell of a pro-vaping study, so let’s break it down into manageable pieces, including responses from vape advocacy groups and the real scientific experts.
Vaping Saves Lives – UK Government Key Findings
Public Health England lists the key findings as:
- Nicotine vaping products were the most popular aid (27.2%) used by smokers trying to quit in England in 2020
- It is estimated that in 2017, more than 50,000 smokers stopped smoking with the aid of a vaping product who would otherwise have carried on smoking
- 38% of smokers in 2020 believed that vaping is as harmful as smoking – 15% believed that vaping is more harmful
- Using a vaping product as part of a quit attempt in local stop smoking services had some of the highest quit success rates – between 59.7% and 74% in 2019 and 2020
Last years PHE study showed the number of smokers making the switch to vaping had stalled here in the UK, and it’s the same story this year. Despite the amazing results e-cigarettes have in stop smoking plans, many smokers are still reluctant to try vaping, let alone switch.
The reason is mainly down to the tsunami of sensationalist fake news stories centred around vaping, all in turn suggesting it’s as ‘dangerous‘ or even more dangerous than smoking. As I’ve said many times the media and indeed anti-vape groups like the World Health Organization and the Bloomberg backed brigade, do have blood on their collective hands.
COVID-19 may also have had an impact of smoking and vaping behaviours, however PHE says it’s too early to crunch the data, given most of it came pre-pandemic.
As an aside, I’ve touched on this in the article: Vapers Switching To Tobacco As Lockdowns Continue – those figures are slowing, but no thanks to the media that continues to link vaping to COVID-19 – wrongly – as you can see here: Fake Covid-19 Vape News Rebutted Yet Again
Vaping Saves Lives – E-cigarettes Better Than Nicotine Replacement Therapy
The UK Government categorically says vaping is the best way to quit smoking and beats patches – gums and sprays hands down adding:
In England in 2020, nicotine vaping products were the most popular aid used by smokers trying to quit, with 27.2% of smokers using a vaping product compared with 18.2% using nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) products (such as patches and gum) and 4.4% using the prescription medicine varenicline.
Evidence over the years suggests that as the use of vaping products in quit attempts increases, the number of successful quits in England also increases.
It is estimated that in 2017, more than 50,000 smokers stopped smoking with the aid of a vaping product who would otherwise have carried on smoking.
Data from systematic reviews since PHE’s 2018 report show that vaping products were significantly more effective for helping people stop smoking than NRT.
Did you see that…
“Significantly more effective for helping people stop smoking than NRT.”
I’ll just leave that there adding another wow!
Vaping Saves Lives – NO UK Teen Vape Epidemic
The key issue that gets all those anti-vaping soccermom groups and even the US Government, all hot and bothered, is the falsely perceived teen vaping epidemic.
It’s been proven as a factoid – OK down right lie – very many times, read more on that revelation: Teen Vaping and Smoking – The Cold Hard Facts Revealed .
However, and given the constant battle cry seems to be ‘we gotta protect the children‘ – what’s the situation here in the UK?
Are our schools, streets and back bedrooms filled with kids vaping?
The simple answer is NO…and that’s a resounding NO!
The smoking and vaping rates for 11-19 year olds here in the UK has pretty much remained the same.
The PHE study says:
84.4% of 16 to 19 year olds who had never smoked had also never vaped, and a very low proportion of never smokers reported currently vaping (1.3%).
In both surveys, a high proportion of people who had tried (or experimented with) vaping had also tried smoking.
Whilst any number of those under 18 smoking or vaping is disconcerting, it’s refreshing to see the incredibly low numbers of teen vapers. And the vast majority of teens that are vaping have stopped smoking…every cloud and all that…pun intended.
PHE says:
Vaping and smoking prevalence among young people in England both appear to have stayed the same in recent years and should continue to be closely monitored.
Around 4.8% of young people (aged 11 to 18 years) reported vaping at least once a month – the same as last year – and most of these were either current or former smokers (only 0.8% of young people who had never smoked currently vape).
Smoking prevalence among young people, including those who smoked sometimes or more than once a week, was 6.7% in March 2020, similar to March 2019, at 6.3%.
The law bans the sale of smoking and vaping products to under 18s but age-of-sale violations are being reported.
Shopkeepers selling fags or vape gear to minors need to stop now – there really is NO excuse!!!
None of us want to see kids vaping or smoking, but the figures do NOT lie…there is NO teen vaping epidemic here in the UK.
Pods Popular With the Silver Vapers!
The PHE study also looked at the most popular vape products used by age and socioeconomic groups – rich and poor to be blunt lol.
It found that pod kits were the most popular with the over 65’s who were switching or had quit smoking completely.
That makes perfect sense, as pod kits are the easiest and most convenient way to vape – and tend to be cheaper too.
BTW if you or someone you know is a smoker looking to quit and is shall we say like me getting on in years, we have a ton of pod kit reviews and you’re bound to find the right one for your needs – don’t be afraid to ask a question in the comments or via the contact page either 😉
Pod kits are not just for the aged either lol, the younger vapers like them too, however by far the most popular vape set-up is the rechargeable kit with refillable tank, your typical mod and tank combo.
Again, if you’re looking for the right kit to begin your switch to vaping checkout our: Best Vape Kits For Beginners – or checkout the previous link 😉
It was interesting to see the most popular branded UK vape products, which to be honest has me scratching my head somewhat given VYPE came out a clear winner, with JUUL and Logic products ‘runners up‘.
PHE’s data shows:
The ASH-A survey questioned vapers about which brand of vaping device they used.
Vype, Logic and JUUL vaping products all appeared to be more popular in 2020 than in 2019.
Vype was the most popular, with 30.5% of vapers using their products.
All other brands declined in popularity over the same time period.
Read our reviews on VYPE – Logic and the JUUL pods including the very tasty new UK exclusive Rich Tobacco flavour…
UK Vape Advocacy Groups And Medical Experts Welcome New PHE Vape Study
As you can imagine, medical experts, leading vape advocates and the UK vaping industry has been quick to praise this amazing show of confidence for vaping.
There’s a queue a mile long so here’s a few quotes from those really in the know.
Professor Ann McNeill, Professor of Tobacco Addiction at King’s College London, and lead author of the report said:
Our report draws together findings from randomised controlled trials, stop smoking services and population studies and concludes that nicotine vaping products are an effective way of successfully quitting smoking.
What is concerning is that smokers, particularly those from disadvantaged groups, incorrectly and increasingly believe that vaping is as harmful as smoking.
This is not true and means fewer smokers try vaping.
Professor John Newton, Director of Health Improvement at PHE, said:
The best thing that a smoker can do is to stop smoking completely and the evidence shows that vaping is one of the most effective quit aids available, helping around 50,000 smokers quit a year.
Thousands more could have quit except for unfounded safety fears about e-cigarettes. The evidence has been clear for some time that, while not risk-free vaping is far less harmful than smoking.
For anyone who smokes, particularly those who have already tried other methods, we strongly recommend they try vaping and stop smoking…
Michelle Mitchell, Cancer Research UK’s Chief Executive, said:
…research so far shows that vaping is less harmful than smoking tobacco and, as this report emphasises, can help people to stop smoking.
The long-term effects of e-cigarettes are unknown but the long-term harms of tobacco are indisputable.
John Dunne, Director General of the UKVIA – UK Vaping Industry Association – says:
This a defining moment for the vaping sector and truly shows the considerable progress it has made against a backdrop of significant misinformation around the industry, with Public Health England once again stating that perceptions of the harm caused by vaping compared with smoking are increasingly out of line with the evidence.
This latest data, which the review is based upon, provides incontrovertible evidence as to the importance of vaping to successful smoking cessation and the nation’s public health.
Despite the many positives in this report a great deal remains to be done.
Action on Smoking and Health, for example, has found that just 11% of local authority stop smoking services are offering vaping products to some or all of those trying to quit smoking.
With the clear efficacy of vaping evidenced in this report, we must ensure this figure grow.
Final word goes to Louise Ross, the Vice Chair of the New Nicotine Alliance who said the world should follow the UK’s stance on vaping adding:
The New Nicotine Alliance enthusiastically welcomes the latest Public Health England Evidence Review on vaping.
In the UK we are indeed fortunate that the authors at King’s College London examine the evidence without prejudice or hostility to harm reduction.
Instead, they tell the world that young people who have never smoked are not using vapes in anything more than insignificant numbers.
The majority of those who do vape do it to stop smoking.
“Hostile Governments” Should Follow the UK’s Lead…
They also describe how popular and effective vaping is for those using this method within stop smoking services, with a significantly higher success rate over other methods.
They draw attention to the disappointing fact that only 11% of services supply vapes, despite the superior success they could be achieving.
We sincerely hope that stop smoking services, healthcare professionals, health and wellbeing managers and policy-makers read this report and take note.
Even more importantly, those governments hostile to tobacco harm reduction, and the WHO, should read this and ask themselves how much more quickly they could drive down smoking rates if they adopted the open-minded and evidence-based approach taken in England.
Final Thoughts…
Proof if it was ever needed that vaping saves lives all wrapped up in one UK Government study!
This is without doubt one hell of a vote in confidence for vaping and e-cigarettes as harm reduction tools, and the perfect building block for the government’s review into vaping regulations due in May 2021.
It really should blow away any clouds of doubt on the safety and success of vaping as the best way to quit smoking – but that bloody biased media does like to light a fire under all things vape.
As I’ve said many times in the past, if, the so called anti-vape medical establishment and of course, those silly screeching Bloomberg backed soccermoms just can’t or won’t see that vaping saves lives…
Answers in the comments below as to why… 😉
Their collective uneducated, uniformed, down right ridiculous contempt for vaping is quite simply costing lives.
They need to wake up and smell the caffeine [that has the same effects as nicotine on the body BTW] – because their inane stupidity is killing people.
Bloomberg and the WHO needs to stop with the anti-vaping BS right now…they have enough blood and misery on their hands already…
I suggest you read and savour the complete report – check it out at the link below:
i can almost certainly guarantee for the most part the only people who are aware of this are vapers who closely follow news on vaping.
PHE needs to do much more to promote vaping as a safer alternative to smoking.
ideally public infomercials on tv and radio and even by getting TV and printed news media on side and by also encouraging them to check with PHE for their input on bad news stories coming from the USA or elsewhere before putting them to print.
they could also be more vocal to UK businesses by more strongly encouraging them to allow vaping on their premises even if only in a designated indoor vaping area so smokers can see vaping must be safer as opposed to how it is now with most including vaping in their outside only policy that makes smokers think vaping must be just as bad as smoking.