E-cigs Help Quitters

Researchers have claimed that the growing number of people who have successfully quit smoking can be attributed to the popularity of e-cigarettes.

19:38 15 September 2016

Researchers who assessed the trends in quit rates and support in England from 2006 to 2015 said that vaping may have helped about 18,000 extra people in England successfully give up smoking in 2015. The team, from University College London and Cancer Research UK, clarified that theirs is an observational study and therefore cannot prove direct cause and effect.

 

The team, led by Prof Robert West at UCL, said: "The increased prevalence of e-cigarettes in England does not appear to have been associated with a detectable change in attempts to stop smoking.

 

"However, the increase in e-cigarette use has been associated with an increase in success of quit attempts."

 

John Britton, director of the UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies at the University of Nottingham, said: "This significant year-on-year fall indicates that something in UK tobacco control policy is working, and successful quitting through substitution with e-cigarettes is one likely major contributor."

 

Prof Linda Bauld, of Cancer Research UK, said: "The British public have voted with their feet and are choosing to use e-cigarettes. This is a positive choice, and we should promote it."