Swap to Stop: UK Govt to offer vapes to one million smokers to help them quit cigarettes

London: In order to reach its goal of making Britain smoke-free by 2030, authorities have launched a program called “swap to stop” under which over one million smokers will be offered vape starter kits to be replaced with cigarettes.

England’s Health Minister Neil O’Brien announced on Tuesday that one in five smokers in the UK will be offered the kits as part of a campaign that has been described as “the first of its kind in the world.”

Under the scheme, pregnant women will be able to earn £400 if they stop smoking following which they will also receive a consultation that is meant to help them quit smoking.

“As part of the world-first national scheme, almost one in five of all smokers in England will be provided with a vape starter kit alongside behavioural support to help them quit the habit as part of a series of new measures to help the government meet its ambition of being smokefree by 2030 – reducing smoking rates to 5 per cent or less,” the Government of UK said in a statement.

Authorities are also mulling over a plan to introduce mandatory cigarette pack inserts with positive messages and information to help people to quit smoking.

Government targets underage vaping

Earlier this week, ministers vowed to launch a crackdown on underage vaping by banning the illicit sale of e-cigarettes.

The government is planning to introduce an “illicit vapes enforcement squad” that will be led by Trading Standards. Funding of £3 million will be set up to conduct “test purchases” and remove banned products from shops.

A survey by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) shows that in 2022, there was a rise in underage smoking with seven per cent of 11- to 17-year-olds found to be smoking vapes compared to 3.3 per cent in 2021.

Health experts in the UK, however, say that the measures introduced by the government will do little to solve the smoking problem among children. They say action is needed to make e-cigarettes less appealing to children and young people.

“We’re relieved that the UK government has started to focus on the rising levels of children and young people picking up e-cigarettes, but an enforcement squad is just the tip of the iceberg,” said Dr Mike McKean, the vice president for policy at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.

He added, “Tighter restrictions on advertising of vaping products are also needed to ensure these products are only advertised as a smoking reduction aid rather than a fun and colourful lifestyle product.”

UK’s smoking problem

Smoking has been found a major cause of health problems among people in the UK. From 2019-20, smoking drove as many as 448,031 to hospitals.

As per a survey by UK’s House of Commons, smoking is more prevalent among men (13.4 per cent) than women (10.4 per cent).

In 2019, the government in the UK set an ambitious goal to make the country smoke-free by 2030, which effectively means only five per cent of the population would smoke by then.

Is vaping better than smoking?

Experts have found that vaping, although not risk-free, is less harmful than smoking. According to National Health Survey, “Vaping exposes users to fewer toxins and at lower levels than smoking cigarettes.”

“Switching to vaping significantly reduces your exposure to toxins that can cause cancer, lung disease, and diseases of the heart and circulation like heart attack and stroke,” it added.

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