The APPG (All Party Parliamentary Group) on Smoking and Health have commissioned a report in association with ASH (Action on Smoking and Health) in the interest of reigniting support for the Government’s Smokefree 2030 target. A big part of the report is how e-cigarettes can act as a crucial tool for achieving this goal.
About the report
The APPG are strongly in support of the Government’s ambition for England to be Smokefree by 2030, however, they have identified that there is much more work to be done if this goal is to be achieved.
The Secretary of State has recently reported that this goal cannot be delivered by “business as usual”, a statement that the APPG strongly agree with, reporting that Smokefree 2030 remains “an extremely challenging ambition which will require bold action.” The report has been developed to provide their recommendations for how the Government, along with healthcare bodies, can work together to make this goal achievable.
One of the areas they have identified as a concern is funding. Their suggestion for bridging the gap in funding without further public cost is to legislate that tobacco manufacturers pay for a Smokefree 2030 fund. Research has found that this is an opinion also held by the vast majority of the public. They explain;
“This [smoking] is an industry, which, as the Chief Medical Officer reminded us recently, kills people for profit, and is likely to have killed more people last year than COVID-19.”
How can e-cigarettes help?
The report strongly recommends utilising e-cigarettes as a stop smoking aid by making them available on prescription. Their research has found that most smokers want to quit, and even more say they regret having ever started, and making e-cigarettes available through prescription would give these people an effective and reliable alternative nicotine source.
Another part of providing support for smokers is to ensure that the support is accessible to all, including those from lower economic backgrounds. A recent Stop Smoking Services supported pilot program provided smokers in social housing with e-cigarette vouchers along with advise and support. This pilot resulted in four times as many successful stop smoking attempted year-on-year for the area, and after the Swap to Stop pilot ended stop smoking rates then declined back to their previously low figures. A third of current smokers live in social housing, so this suggests that with access to the right support, and with the help of an e-cigarette, many more people are likely to kick the habit. Based on this, the APPG commissioned modelling that suggests offering this support to all smokers in social housing could help an additional 300,000 people become long-term ex-smokers between 2022-2030.
In 2017, over 50,000 smokers kicked the habit with the help of a vaping product, who would otherwise have continued to smoke. However, their research found that in 2020 42% of smokers falsely believed that e-cigarettes are equally, or more harmful than smoking. These misconceptions are then perpetuated in the media and by uninformed health professionals, stopping smokers from potentially quitting their habit.
The APPG admit that dispelling these misperceptions will not be easy, but it can be achieved, and making e-cigarettes available on NHS prescription would go a long way to reassure people that they are recognised as a less harmful alternative to smoking. The British Medical Association have reported their beliefs that having medically licensed e-cigarettes would also increase health professionals' confidence in their safety and efficacy, making them more likely to recommend them individually.
Additionally, e-cigarettes have been found to be the most effective alternative to smoking, and it is likely that making them available on prescription would further increase their efficacy. This is something that was found when other NRTs like patches and gum were made available on prescription rather than just over the counter.
Regulation and safety
Another focus point that the report has identified is to ensure that e-cigarettes and other nicotine products are regulated in a way that protects young people, while still remaining accessible to adult smokers. This is something we already do well in the UK, with e-cigarette use among young people being consistently low, and concentrated to those who were existing smokers. The vast majority of e-cigarettes are being used by adult smokers as a way to help them quit smoking, cut down, or to prevent relapse after a previous successful quit. However, it is important that packaging and advertising is handled in a way that is not seen as appealing to children.
It is great to see support for e-cigarettes as an effective stop smoking aid being broadcast in a public forum. Recognising the positive benefits of vaping as a smoking alternative could help make the goal of a Smokefree England by 2030 much more achievable, and as an industry we strive to not only help adult smokers quit, but to help maintain the world-leading tobacco controls and declining smoking rates that England has become known for.
Sources
https://ash.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/APPG-report-210609_Exec-Summary.pdf
https://ash.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/APPGTCP2021.pdf
