A major UK health watchdog says ecigarettes ARE smoking cessation tools and smokers looking to quit should be offered them by doctors.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence – NICE – is a UK Government organization that regulates all things health, from medicines to care standards across the NHS.
For this group to come out in support of vaping as a way to quit smoking is not only nice news – but a very big deal indeed.
It comes on the back of a recent report from the All Party Parliamentary Group on Smoking and Health [APPG] – calling for e-cigarettes to be made available to smokers on NHS prescriptions.
As you can imagine, the news has been welcomed by the vaping industry and advocacy groups including the World Vapers’ Alliance.
WVA Director Michael Landl said:
Once more the UK is setting an example for the world on how to effectively and pragmatically help smokers to quit.
The UK authorities are following the evidence and supporting a tool that actually works.
They are supporting smokers to switch to vaping.
The UK is the beacon of hope for sensible public health policy when it comes to the fight against smoking.
Instead of continuing their ideological fight against vaping, governments and the WHO should follow the science and listen to the millions of vapers who successfully quit.
Fortunately, the UK is leading the way
Indeed…
NICE says:
The evidence shows that nicotine-containing e-cigarettes can help people to stop smoking and are similarly effective to other cessation options such as a combination of short- and long-acting nicotine replacement therapy (NRT).
The expert committee agreed that people should be able to use e-cigarettes as one of several options to support smoking cessation, if they so choose.
Put that in your e-cigarette and vape it the WHO lol.
Commenting on the statement of support for e-cigarettes as a way to quit smoking, NICE’s Centre for Guidelines director Dr Paul Chrisp said:
Smoking accounts for approximately half the difference in life expectancy between the richest and poorest in society.
It is therefore vitally important that we reduce the level of smoking in this country.
We know that around 10% of women are known to be smokers at the time of giving birth and, given the significant health effects of smoking on both mothers and babies, it is clear that further efforts are required to encourage this group to give up smoking.
We need to use every tool in our arsenal to reduce smoking rates, including education, behavioural support, financial incentives, and e-cigarettes if people are interested in using them.
Combined, we hope that people who smoke will feel enabled to give up tobacco products once and for all.
Rosanna O’Connor, Director Drugs, Alcohol, Tobacco and Justice at Public Health England, said:
This new guidance offers a welcome ‘how-to guide’ for reducing the harm caused by smoking including helping smokers to quit and preventing a new generation of smokers from starting.
This consultation is an important opportunity for all our partners to help shape these recommendations.
The NICE draft statement is now open for consultation until August 6th 2021 – please add your comments HERE.
First Vape Clinic Opens In the UK
It’s a case of the ‘vape doctor‘ will see you now as the first ‘vape clinic‘ opens in the UK!
It’s the brainchild of mega vape shop chain VPZ and the first vape clinic opened last week at the company’s Newbridge store near Edinburgh.
Smokers looking to quit will receive a 1:1 consultation with a vape specialist, with a money back guarantee on kits and juice should the smoker fail to make the switch.
Doug Mutter – VPZ Director – says the scheme will eventually roll out across the UK adding:
We are proud to be launching the very first Vape Clinic here in Edinburgh and will soon be rolling the service out across our entire estate to give smokers the support they need to quit and help the country regain its momentum toward becoming a tobacco free nation by 2030.
Smoking statistics are continuing to rise as the Pandemic has triggered an increase in smoking rates and the public health problem has been compounded by funding cuts for NHS stop smoking services and local support groups.
Our new Vape Clinic concept is an investment to fill the void left by the loss of local NHS stop smoking services.
We are so confident in the success of our new service that we are offering our customers a money back guarantee if they are unable to make the switch entirely.
Great news for sure and we can only wish VPZ all the success.
GFN21 Recap and Videos
Last month saw the Global Forum on Nicotine 2021 and you can now get access to all the videos of the annual event.
The #GFN21 took place in Liverpool, UK and online on 17 – 18 June and saw a wide range of vaping advocates, health professionals and politicians discussed tobacco harm reduction.
I was invited to attend, however family commitments meant I couldn’t, and given I’ve been away for a few weeks my apologies for my none coverage!
Anyway enough about me…
A spokesman for GFN21 said the event had 3 attracted watchers/visitors from a staggering 87 countries adding:
Amid a packed and varied programme, the message from the 30 speakers who joined the Global Forum on Nicotine 2021 in person or online was very clear.
Policymakers in public health and tobacco control need to listen to both the science on tobacco harm reduction and the experiences of consumers who are benefiting from it every day; ideology must be set aside to prioritise progress towards the common goal of ending smoking.
People smoke to obtain nicotine, a comparatively low risk substance, but are harmed by thousands of toxins released when tobacco burns.
Experts at the Global Forum on Nicotine were discussing an approach called tobacco harm reduction, in which people who cannot quit nicotine are encouraged to switch from dangerous combustible or oral products to safer nicotine products including vapes (e-cigarettes), pasteurised snus, non-tobacco nicotine pouches and heated tobacco products.
Compared to continued smoking, all are significantly less harmful to health.
Absolutely.
Professor Gerry Stimson, Emeritus Professor at Imperial College London and a founder of the Global Forum on Nicotine, said:
Much of what I have seen and heard over the last couple of days has been encouraging; it feels as though we’re on the right trajectory.
Consumers all over the world are becoming aware of the opportunities offered by safer nicotine products, and innovations in the market will, I believe, lead to the eventual obsolescence of combustible cigarettes.
The question is how to speed up the process and scale up, so that tobacco harm reduction reaches all smokers, everywhere, as quickly as possible.
Watch the videos here:
GFN21 – Day One
GFN21 – Day Two
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More vaping news on Wednesday!
PS: Come On England!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
