- The electrical devices helped 49 smokers a day to stub the habit in 2015
- Researchers analysed statistics from 43,000 smokers over nine years
- As more people used the devices, more smokers managed to kick the habit
- Expert says this study shows the devices have helped people stop smoking
Stephen Matthews For Mailonline
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Electronic cigarettes helped an additional 18,000 people quit smoking in just one year, new research suggests.
The devices assisted around 49 smokers a day in England to stub out the habit in 2015, a study has revealed.
Researchers claim there was no evidence to suggest e-cigarettes prompted more people to try and quit the notoriously bad habit – but that the devices did improve success rates.
E-cigarettes aided 18,000 people to give up smoking during 2015 in England – around 49 a day, researchers from University College London discovered
Researchers from University College London (UCL) assessed data from more than 43,000 smokers over a period of nine years starting in 2006.
The data also provided figures on the portion of smokers who had set themselves a quit date.
They noted over the time period studied, as more people used the devices, more people managed to successfully quit smoking.
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A 40-year-old smoker who quits permanently can expect to gain nine life years compared with a continuing smoker, researchers claim.
Professor Robert West, from UCL, said: ‘England is sometimes singled out as being too positive in its attitude to e-cigarettes.
‘These data suggest that our relatively liberal regulation of e-cigarettes is probably justified.’
A 40-year-old smoker who quits permanently can expect to gain nine life years compared with a continuing smoker, experts claim
Alison Cox, director of prevention at Cancer Research UK, added: ‘Giving up smoking can be really tough.
‘It’s important to remember that getting support from Stop Smoking Services is still the most effective way to quit.
‘E-cigarettes can play a role in helping people quit and the evidence so far shows e-cigarettes are much safer than tobacco.
‘This study shows the positive impact they’ve had on helping people give up the deadly addiction.’
It is estimated that 2.8 million people in Britain use e-cigarettes, and they are the most popular aid to try to stop smoking in the country.
Doctors maintain the most effective way to quit smoking remains through prescription medication and professional support.
Although fewer people use NHS stop-smoking services than use e-cigarettes – they are three times more likely to quit than going cold turkey on their own.
Tobacco still kills six million people around the world every year, with more than 100,000 of those in the UK.
Despite huge public health efforts to help people quit, the habit remains the number one preventable cause of cancer.
The findings were published in the British Medical Journal.
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