{"id":35078,"date":"2026-03-11T13:36:35","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T13:36:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/?p=35078"},"modified":"2026-03-11T13:44:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T13:44:15","slug":"free-vape-scheme-pushes-125000-more-smokers-to-try-quitting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/post\/free-vape-scheme-pushes-125000-more-smokers-to-try-quitting\/","title":{"rendered":"Free vape scheme pushes 125,000 more smokers to try quitting"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/div>\n

Around 125,000 additional people in England tried to quit smoking using vapes after the Government launched its \u201cSwap to Stop\u201d scheme, according to new research.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The study<\/a>, carried out by researchers from the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) Policy Research Unit in Addictions at King\u2019s College London and University College London, examined the impact of the national programme offering smokers free vape starter kits and behavioural support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It found that the initiative was linked with a clear increase in the number of smokers turning to vapes as a quitting aid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Uptake rises after scheme introduced<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The analysis, published in the journal Addiction, suggests the scheme had a measurable impact on smoking quit attempts across England.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Researchers found that approximately 125,000 people started using vapes to try to quit smoking in the year following the introduction of the programme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cSwap to Stop\u201d initiative was introduced in December 2023 as part of the UK Government\u2019s strategy to reduce smoking rates. The programme aims to encourage smokers to switch away from cigarettes by offering free vape starter kits alongside support to help them quit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To assess its impact, researchers used data from the Smoking Toolkit Study, which conducts monthly telephone interviews with adults aged 16 and over to track smoking behaviour and quit attempts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clear population-level shift<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The study found a sustained rise in the number of smokers using vapes in quit attempts after the scheme began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Between December 2023 and December 2024, the proportion of people in England using vapes in attempts to quit smoking in the past year increased by 1.5 percentage points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Researchers say this shift represents a meaningful change in behaviour at a national level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Professor Leonie Brose, Professor of Addictions & Public Health at King\u2019s IoPPN and the study\u2019s senior author, said: \u201cSmoking kills more than half of its long term users, so even seemingly small changes in behaviour can have a large impact at a population level. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s reassuring to see such a clear population level effect associated with this initiative, showing that well designed schemes can meaningfully shift people towards less harmful alternatives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vapes shown to help smokers quit<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Previous research has suggested that vapes can be an effective tool for smokers trying to stop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Studies have found that people using vapes can have higher quit success rates compared with those using traditional nicotine replacement therapies such as patches or gum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One study found that around one in five participants were able to quit smoking when given free vapes alongside behavioural support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr Vera Buss, Senior Research Fellow in Behavioural Science at University College London and the study\u2019s first author, said: \u201cIt\u2019s great news that around 125,000 people in England tried to quit smoking using vapes after the swap to stop scheme was introduced. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople who use vapes are about 50 per cent more likely to quit smoking successfully than those who use nicotine replacement therapy, and quitting smoking substantially reduces the risk of many serious diseases.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Implications for future policy<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The researchers say the findings suggest programmes that provide smokers with free vape starter kits could play a useful role in tobacco control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They suggest policymakers in England should consider continuing funding for the programme, and that other countries could explore similar models if they fit within national tobacco control strategies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The study, \u201cAssociations between the national \u2018Swap to Stop\u2019 programme offering free vapes for smoking cessation and quit attempts in England: results from a population-based survey,\u201d was funded through the NIHR Policy Research Unit in Addictions, with additional support from Cancer Research UK and the UK Prevention Research Partnership.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Around 125,000 additional people in England tried to quit smoking using vapes after the Government launched its \u201cSwap to Stop\u201d scheme, according to new research. The study, carried out by researchers from the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) Policy…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":990005,"featured_media":35119,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[257],"tags":[367,25,186],"slider":[],"class_list":["post-35078","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-interviews","tag-news","tag-nicotine"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35078","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/990005"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35078"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35078\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35080,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35078\/revisions\/35080"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35119"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35078"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35078"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35078"},{"taxonomy":"slider","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/slider?post=35078"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}