Smoking ‘amnesty’ in UK

The UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) yesterday issued what it described as the 10 top motivational facts to help new vapers stick to their New Year resolution to quit smoking.

Yesterday marked the sixth anniversary of ‘National Cigarette Amnesty Day’, which was designed to help UK smokers switch to vaping during January.

In a press note, the UKVIA said that smoking was one of the main causes of preventable deaths in the UK, and that it was one of the most challenging addictions to beat. ‘According to Public Health England, at least half a million smokers are trying to quit this January and vaping is one of the most effective aids to help them do so,’ the Association said. ‘Evidence shows that people trying to quit cigarettes are 50 percent more successful when using vaping devices.’

“Research has shown the first 28 days are the toughest, but if you can get past these without going back to a cigarette, then you are five times more likely to quit smoking for good,” said Doug Mutter, board member of the UKVIA.

The top 10 motivational facts to help new vapers stick to their New Year resolution to quit smoking are:

1. Vaping is at least 95 percent less harmful than smoking [Public Health England 2018];
2. Second-hand vapor does not harm those around you [Cancer Research UK, 2016];
3. Vaping doubles the chance of you successfully quitting smoking [Public Health England, 2018];
4. More than three million smokers have already used vaping to quit or reduce their smoking [Action on Smoking and Health, 2018];
5. Vaping helps 20,000 people quit smoking every year [Cancer Research UK, 2018];
6. The average vaper spends £800 less a year on her habit than does a smoker [the UK Government’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, 2014];
7. A smoker turned vaper saves the UK £74,000 [Action on Smoking and Health, 2018];
8. Smoking costs the NHS £2.5 billion a year [Action on Smoking and Health, 2017];
9. Vaping helps save our communities smoking costs of £760 million a year [Royal Society for Public Health, 2018];
10. Vaping shops are saving our high streets across the UK [Action on Smoking and Health, 2017].