More than half of UK vapers have given up smoking

  • Of the UK’s 2.9 million e-cigarette users, more than half have given up smoking 
  • Yet, many vapers continue to rely on both conventional and electronic cigarettes
  • Only 13% recognise that e-cigs are a lot less harmful than conventional smoking 
  • More than a quarter think that vaping is equally or more dangerous than tobacco
  • Fruit-flavoured vapes are the most popular option, overtaking previous tobacco 

Alexandra Thompson Health Reporter For Mailonline

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More vapers have quit smoking than those who continue using conventional cigarettes. 

Of the UK’s 2.9 million e-cigarette users, more than half have given up smoking, according to an annual survey by the Action on Smoking and Health (ASH).

Ann McNeill, professor of tobacco addiction at King’s College London, said: ‘This year’s ASH survey finds that around 1.5 million vapers are ex-smokers, for the first time a larger number than those who continue to smoke.

‘This is encouraging news as we know that vapers who continue to smoke continue to be exposed to cancer-causing substances.’ 

The first electronic cigarette was created by a pharmacist in Beijing in 2003, but they didn’t gain popularity in the UK until around 2008.  

More than half of the UK's 2.9 million e-cigarette users have since given up smoking entirely

More than half of the UK's 2.9 million e-cigarette users have since given up smoking entirely

More than half of the UK’s 2.9 million e-cigarette users have since given up smoking entirely

E-CIGARETTES ARE GATEWAY TO TOBACCO FOR TEENS

Electronic cigarettes are getting a generation of teenagers hooked on nicotine, a study has warned.

Researchers claim that teenagers who would never normally smoke are now starting out with so-called vaping before moving on to regular cigarettes, risking long-term health problems.

The study, published this January, was conducted by the University of California, San Francisco.

The researchers found the number of schoolchildren who were smoking both cigarettes and e-cigarettes has risen between 2011 and 2014, suggesting that the trendy devices are a gateway to the harmful habit.

The report’s authors said youths in the study who were deemed at a low risk of smoking cigarettes may not have developed a regular habit if e-cigarettes did not exist.

Despite the encouraging findings, many vapers still dual-use conventional and electronic cigarettes, and are therefore exposing themselves to tobacco’s cancer-causing substances, the study added. 

Ms McNeill said: ‘The message for the 1.3 million vapers who still smoke is that they need to go further and switch completely.’

The survey also revealed people are overestimating the dangers of vaping, with only 13 per cent of respondents recognising that e-cigarettes are a lot less harmful than smoking.

More than a quarter (26 per cent) think e-cigarettes are more or equally harmful to tobacco.

The most common reasons e-cigarette users ditch tobacco is to help them give up completely and to save money, the survey added. 

Experts are hoping the UK’s nine million active smokers will realise vaping is a much less harmful alternative to satisfy their nicotine cravings.  

Deborah Arnott, chief executive at ASH, said: ‘The rapid growth in e-cigarette use has come to an end, while over a third of smokers have still never tried e-cigarettes, saying the main reasons are concerns about the safety and addictiveness of e-cigarettes.

‘It’s very important smokers realise that vaping is much, much less harmful than smoking.’

The survey also find that fruit has surpassed tobacco as the most commonly used flavour to use in vapes.

This comes after researchers from London-based British American Tobacco found that e-cigarettes do not cause cancer.

The finding re-enforces claims that e-cigs are a safer alternative to tobacco, the study claims.  

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