PHE (Public Health England) have released their seventh independent report on vaping in England. It was carried out by King’s College London, and it holds some really important findings for the future of vaping.
About the report
The report looks at the effectiveness of nicotine containing e-cigarettes as a stop smoking aid and the perception held on their risk relative to smoking. It also analyses the use of e-cigarettes among young people.
This year it is recognised that COVID-19 will have likely had an impact on people’s smoking and vaping behaviour. However, the majority of the data used in this report is pre-pandemic so this change will be seen mainly in next year’s report.
Professor Ann McNeill, the lead author of the report and Professor of Tobacco Addiction at King’s College London, explains;
“Our report draws together findings from randomised controlled trials, stop smoking services and population studies and concludes that nicotine vaping products are an effective way of successfully quitting smoking.”
Vaping among adults
In 2020, nicotine vaping products were used by 27.2% of smokers in trying to quit. This makes them the most popular stop smoking aid when compared to 18.2% using NRTs (Nicotine Replacement Therapies) like patches and gum, and 4.4% using the prescription medication Varenicline.
Not only have e-cigarettes been found to be the most popular stop smoking aid, but they have also been found to be the most effective. This is especially true when used in conjunction with support from local stop smoking services. The report found that e-cigarettes used in conjunction with stop smoking services had success rates between 59.7% and 74% in 2019 and 2020.
Professor John Newton, Director of Health Improvement at PHE states;
“For anyone who smokes, particularly those who have already tried other methods, we strongly recommend they try vaping and stop smoking… Smoking is still the leading preventable cause of premature death and disease – killing almost 75,000 people in England in 2019. The best thing that a smoker can do is to stop smoking completely and the evidence shows that vaping is one of the most effective quit aids available, helping around 50,000 smokers quit a year.”
The use of e-cigarettes has plateaued since the last PHE report in March 2020. However, evidence from the years since e-cigarettes became available suggest that as the use of vaping products increases, as does the number of successful stop smoking attempts. Around 6% of adults in England are currently vapers, approximately 2.7 million, and smoking prevalence continued to fall. Estimates suggest that more than 50,000 smokers who would have otherwise continued to smoke, kick the habit with the help of an e-cigarette every year.
Unfortunately, there is still a large portion of the public that are misinformed on the risks of vaping. PHE have found e-cigarettes to be 95% less harmful than smoking, yet the report found that in 2020, 38% of smokers falsely believed vaping to be as harmful as smoking, with 15% believing vaping to be more harmful than smoking.
Regarding this, Professor John Newton expresses;
“Thousands more could have quit except for unfounded safety fears about e-cigarettes. The evidence has been clear for some time that, while not risk-free vaping is far less harmful than smoking.”
Chief Executive at Cancer Research UK, Michelle Mitchell, adds;
“…research so far shows that vaping is less harmful than smoking tobacco and, as this report emphasises, can help people to stop smoking. The long-term effects of e-cigarettes are unknown but the long-term harms of tobacco are indisputable.”
E-cigarette use among young people
The use of e-cigarettes among young people remains consistent with the low numbers seen last year. Just 4.8% of people aged 11 – 18 reporting they use an e-cigarettes at least once a month, most of whom are either current or former smokers. Only 0.8% of young people who use an e-cigarette regularly are never-smokers.
The UK have very successfully avoided the high rates of e-cigarette use in young people seen in the US, whilst still embracing them as an effective stop smoking aid and endorsing their use to adult smokers. However, Deborah Arnott, Chief Executive at ASH, suggests there is still some way to go in utilising e-cigarettes full potential;
“Rightly, since e-cigarettes emerged as an alternative to smoking, the government has sought to strike a balance between helping smokers to quit and protecting children. As ASH research included in the report for PHE shows, e-cigarette use among 11 to 18 year olds has to date remained low, but on the downside their potential as an adult quitting aid has not been fully realised.”
The report identifies a primary focus is to prioritise the promotion of the relative risks e-cigarettes hold compared to smoking. If it is more widely known that e-cigarettes are a much safer alternative to smoking, and that quitting smoking even with the use of an aid can help undo some of the damage smoking has done to the body, this may encourage more people to consider making the switch.
Sources
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/e-cigarettes-and-heated-tobacco-products-evidence-review
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vaping-in-england-evidence-update-february-2021
