New data released by the NHS shows that smoking rates has dropped to an all time low among both adults and young people. This decline in smoking rates correlates with the rise of vaping among adults as a stop smoking aid, with e-cigarettes now being the most popular and effective way to give up smoking.
6.3% of adults in the UK now use an e-cigarette, with the majority using them as a way to kick their smoking habit. Public Health England Chief executive Duncan Selbie said:
"This is really positive news in the battle against the nation's biggest killer. Smoking in England is in terminal decline, with the lowest number of smokers ever and a smoke-free generation now in sight.” - Duncan Selbie, Public Health England, Chief Executive
More and more people are now choosing an e-cigarette as a healthier and less expensive alternative to smoking, and this data shows that the long discussed possibility of a smoke free future may be achieved in the not so distant future.
The UK has some of the highest rates of e-cigarette use in the world, with many public health organisations, charities, and also the NHS itself endorsing vaping as being 95% safer than smoking.
While e-cigarette use is growing among adults in the UK, we have not experienced the problem with youth vaping that has been prevalent in the US. Research has found that only 2% of young people in the UK use an e-cigarette regularly, with the majority previously being smokers.
The number of young smokers is also falling, with just 6% of school pupils aged between 11 – 15 reporting that they are currently smokers, a significant drop from the 22% in 1996.
How Do E-Cigarettes Help People Quit Smoking?
An e-cigarette is a device which vaporises e-liquid which can contain nicotine. With nicotine being the addictive substance within cigarettes, users can switch from smoking to vaping without experiencing withdrawal, making giving up smoking much easier than if they went ‘cold turkey’.
Although nicotine is an addictive substance, it does not cause cancer, unlike many of the other substance found in cigarettes. E-liquids do not contain the abundance of harmful compounds that cigarettes do, such as tar and carbon monoxide, making them a much healthier alternative, and helping users improve their health and cut down on the risk of smoking related diseases such as cancer and heart disease.
There are a number of different solutions to help smokers kick the habit, such as NRTs (Nicotine replacement therapy) like gum and patches. However, recent research has found that e-cigarettes are three times more effective at a successful quit attempt, and as well as offering the user a multitude of options for personalising their experience to best suit their smoking habits, e-cigarette use is on average cheaper than that of NRTs.
If you are considering quitting smoking and would like to find out more about how an e-cigarette could help you, pop in to your local Evapo store and speak to a member of our team, or head to our website. You can also find lots of helpful information and reviews on our blog.
