As many as 1.5 million e-cigarette users have quit smoking with the help of these devices. It can be seen that while vaping is growing by the second, the number of people choosing to use them is still increasing slowly.
There are an estimated 2.9 million e-cigarette users in the UK. For the first time, more than half of vapers say they have quit smoking, according to the Annual Smokefree GB survey conducted by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH).
However, it is still unfortunate that many smokers are still skeptical about the benefits of vape products, which is why the number of people switching to vaping has slowed down.
Although the UK has the lowest number of smokers in history thanks to the development of e-cigarettes, there are still more than 9 million people out there who continue to smoke.
“This year, the ASH survey found that there were 1.5 million former vapers, which for the first time outnumbered current smokers,” commented Professor Ann McNeill, professor of tobacco addiction at King’s College London.
“This is encouraging news, as we know that vapers who continue to smoke are still exposed to cancer-causing chemicals. The message to the 1.3 million vapers who still smoke is that they should make the effort and switch to vaping,” she concluded.
Despite official assurances from PHE last year that vaping is 95% safer than smoking , more than a quarter of respondents (26%) still believe vaping products are just as harmful or more harmful than smoking, and just 13% say they are safer.
Misconceptions about e-cigarettes that can affect health
“The news that vapers have quit is great, but there are still 9 million smokers compared to 1.5 million non-smokers,” said Deborah Arnott, CEO of ASH. “The period of steady growth in vaping has come to an end while more than a third of smokers have never tried e-cigarettes, saying they remain skeptical about their safety. It is vital that smokers realise that vaping is much safer than smoking.”
Diane Caruana - Vapingpost
