Public Health England reconfirms vaping is beneficial
The PHE has warned that the misconceptions about the benefits and relative risks associated with vaping is causing a tail-off in smokers switching to the harm reduction method of intaking nicotine. They worry the incorrect perceptions of its relative risks is discouraging smokers, stating that vaping is far better than traditional nicotine replacement therapies.
The PHE released its 7th independent report on vaping, produced by researchers at King’s College London. The report finds:
- 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
It is believed the COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on adult and teen smoking/vaping behaviours, but the authors feel it is far too early to assess the full effect of the pandemic, with much of the data being examined being from the pre-pandemic era.
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