{"id":23825,"date":"2024-04-08T14:38:09","date_gmt":"2024-04-08T13:38:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theelectroniccigarette.co.uk\/blog\/?p=23825"},"modified":"2026-01-26T10:27:24","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T10:27:24","slug":"free-vapes-handed-out-in-ae-could-prevent-thousands-of-deaths","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theelectroniccigarette.co.uk\/blog\/free-vapes-handed-out-in-ae-could-prevent-thousands-of-deaths\/","title":{"rendered":"Free vapes handed out in UK Hospitals could prevent thousands of deaths"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Free<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Researchers at the University of East Anglia (UEA) conducted a trial across six UK hospitals in 2022 handing out free vapes to smokers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The trial consisted of health professionals handing out free vape starter kits <\/a>to daily smokers. Followed by catered support in the hopes of helping them reduce or quit the habit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr Ian Pope from UEA’s Norwich Medical School and an emergency physician said:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSmoking killed almost 75,000 people in the UK in 2019 and it is the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the UK.  
 
\u201cSwapping to e-cigarettes could save thousands of lives. We believe that if this intervention was widely implemented it could result in more than 22,000 extra people quitting smoking each year(1).”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What did the study find?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The 30-month research programme had a total of 972 participants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

484 of the patients smoked daily and began using the provided free vapes. Followed by an NHS referral to stop-smoking services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second group of 488 patients took home written information on how to access services but were not referred directly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The research found that those who received catered support were 76% more likely to have given up smoking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In total 7.2% of people given devices quit smoking altogether whereas, for those who didn\u2019t accept catered support, 4.1% stopped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, for the patients who didn\u2019t quit smoking altogether, vape intervention allowed them to cut down their daily intake. This provided a clear path to quitting smoking and allowed many people in deprived areas access to free vapes they otherwise couldn’t afford.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Researchers implored the introduction of catered stop-smoking support in emergency departments and believe it is vital to support people through new changes in the smoking laws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n