Adults in Bath and north east Somerset wishing to stop smoking will be offered a free vaping kit in exchange for handing in cigarettes.
The vaping kit will provide a month’s worth of e-liquids and a rechargeable vape.
This initiative is part of the national Swap to Stop campaign which aims to cut smoking rates and improve the country’s health. First launched in April 2023, the campaign also intends to support the government in its goal to be smoke-free by 2030.
This comes as new figures show that the number of UK adults who use vapes has reached its highest levels since 2017.
Based on research conducted by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), the figures revealed that some 5.6 million UK adults are using vapes. This is the equivalent of around 11% of the adult population. More than half (53%) of these adults are also former smokers.
In addition, the data also found that the number of UK adults who both smoke and vape have almost doubled since 2021 – an increase of 17% to 32%.
Vaping ‘most popular’ method to quit smoking
Becky Reynolds is director of public health for Bath & North East Somerset (B&NES) Council. She said: ‘There is strong evidence that vaping helps people to quit smoking and it’s less harmful than smoking.
‘We are really pleased to be part of the national Swap to Stop programme in B&NES which means local smokers have an opportunity to try vaping at no cost to themselves.
‘We know how difficult it is to quit smoking and most smokers will have tried many times. Vaping is currently the most popular and most effective way to quit, so I encourage smokers in B&NES to take up this great offer.’
Vaping regulations and smoking ban to come
King Charles III confirmed that the newly-elected Labour government will revive the Tobacco and Vapes Bill in his speech last month.
This bill will introduce provisions to reduce youth vaping. This includes introducing new powers to regulate the flavours, contents and packaging of vaping products.
This follows recent data which found that almost one million children aged 11 to 17 have tried vaping. It is also estimated that 230,000 children vape more than once a week.
In addition, the bill will implement a smoking ban by making it an offence to sell tobacco products to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009. This would effectively ban the next generation from buying cigarettes.
This news comes as new research revealed that smoking-related cancers are at an all time high in the UK, with six people diagnosed every hour. The number of new cases have also reached 160 per day – an increase of 17% compared to 2003 levels.
Following the King’s Speech, ASH chief executive Deborah Arnott said: ‘Today’s announcement puts us in pole position to be the first country in the world to end smoking. Smoking puts pressure on our NHS and social care system, but the greatest financial impact is the damage to our economy due to lost productivity.
‘The measures announced today will play a major role in helping government achieve its ambition to halve the difference in healthy life expectancy between the richest and poorest regions, and deliver productivity growth in every part of the country.’
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