A new report published by the scientific journal Addiction has found a positive link between e-cigarette use and the number of people giving up smoking. With vaping numbers in the UK reaching about 3.6 million, researchers are pulling data to determine if the declining smoking rates are a result of the widespread use of e-cigarette starter kits.
The study
The study, conducted by the University College London and funded by Cancer Research U.K., has reported that “vaping has helped tens of thousands of Britons quit smoking each year”. The use of e-cigarettes in quit attempts has gone up since 2011, and so has the success rate of quitting combustible cigarettes. The research also highlighted, amid the growing backlash across the United States, that the U.K.’s stance remains supportive of vaping and its ability to assist smokers who want to quit combustible cigarettes.
The objective
Researchers at the university have been analyzing the rise of vaping in the UK since 2011, and have noticed that declining smoking rates directly correlate with the embrace of the e-cig industry. According to the study, vaping has contributed to the global reduction of tobacco use worldwide and a “ban on flavored e-cigarettes” would not help the “millions of smokers using them to stop smoking.”
This study used data from the Smoking Toolkit Study, a series of monthly cross-sectional household surveys of individuals aged 16 and older in England going back to 2006. Stats were collected until 2017 and were based on about 1,200 past-year smokers and their current use of e-cigs, their use of an e-cigarette starter kit during their attempts to quit and the overall quit success rate and average cigarette consumption of the subject. Researchers also collected statistical data on seasonality, underlying trends, spending on tobacco media and the affordability of tobacco across the country.
What was the result?
Senior Research Associate at UCL, Dr. Emma Beard, commented: “This study builds on population surveys and clinical trials that find e-cigarettes can help smokers to stop. England seems to have found a sensible balance between regulation and promotion of e-cigarettes. Marketing is tightly controlled so we are seeing very little use of e-cigarettes by never-smokers of any age while millions of smokers are using them to try to stop smoking or to cut down the amount they smoke.”
The study concluded that research so far shows that vaping is still less harmful than smoking tobacco and can help people to stop smoking. Over 50,000 UK residents in 2017 alone used e-cigs as their best chance to wave goodbye to combustible cigarettes.
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