1 million smokers urged to quit by swapping cigarettes for a vape.
In this article...
Finally! A positive vaping story is buzzing around the media. The UK government has announced that it will be urging 1 million smokers to swap cigarettes for an e-cig in an official ‘swap to stop’ scheme. The plans, announced on Tuesday, also offer pregnant smokers a £400 incentive to quit.
The ‘Swap to Stop’ Scheme.
We’re finally seeing a step in the right direction towards the government ‘smoke free 2030’ plans. The ‘swap to stop’ scheme will offer 1 in 5 smokers across England the chance to switch to a 95% healthier alternative to cigarettes and tobacco. The scheme itself will cost around £45 million. This will be spent over two years and is funded by the Department of Health and Social Care’s Budget, controlled by local authorities. Our own Marcus Saxton, chairman of the IBVTA said “There still remains over 6 million smokers in England. Of these smokers 2 out of 3 will die if they use these products exactly as directed by the manufacturer, which is shocking. This remains the single biggest preventable cause of death globally. Whilst much more needs to be done, it is very encouraging to see todays announcement around the swap to stop scheme“.
Along with offering 1 million smokers the opportunity to swap their cigs for a vape, the scheme will offer pregnant smokers a £400 incentive to successfully quit smoking. Officials estimate 9% of women still smoke during pregnancy in England. As I learned from my NCSCT training, smoking while pregnant DOUBLES the chance of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). So, this is an amazing push towards antenatal support for smokers. One of the major issues with quitting during pregnancy is not wanting to admit to smoking at all. Hopefully, this voucher will help to push users to seek help in quitting.
A Step in the Right Direction
Back in 2019 the UK government pledged to end smoking by 2030. This means that the number of smokers needs to be below 5%. As of 2021 it was at 13%, the lowest on record, but it’s still not falling fast enough. In order to hit the targets, more needs to be done to support vapers across the country. Dr Javed Khan, former CEO of Bernardo’s, has suggested changes to help achieve this. The first would be to ban smoking in outdoor public spaces such as beer gardens and beaches. Another suggestion would be to increase the age restriction on buying cigarettes by one year, every year. This would stop new smokers from being able to purchase tobacco products.
While the main focus of this campaign is to target adult smokers, there are still concerns regarding the rising numbers of underage vapers. But, the government also announced earlier this week that they are planning to address this too. Plans are in the works to create an enforcement squad to crack down on underage sales and illegal vapes. A report from ASH revealed that around 8.6% of young people in England occasionally or regularly vape. A major contributor to this figure is irresponsible retailers not following Challenge 25 guidelines. As highlighted by ITV News, when a 15 year old was able to purchase disposables from shops. This task force will help enforce trading laws and make retailers pay closer attention. But, will the £3 million backing this be enough? Only time will tell.
If you’re looking to quit smoking, or know someone who is, check out our helpful support pages or feel free to contact us.
