Industry and political figures have responded to the headline findings of a new vaping report by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), which include a drop in the number of adult vapers for the first time, an increasing misperception of the relative risks of vaping to smoking and the positive influence that flavours were having on helping smokers quit and prevent relapse.
The study revealed that:
- The number of adult vapers decreased from 7.1% to 6.3% of the UK population in the last year
- Just 39% of smokers were aware that vaping is less harmful than smoking, down 9% on the year before
- 41% of ex-smokers said their main reason for vaping was to aid in quitting cigarettes
- 20% said that they vaped to prevent using cigarettes again
- Nearly 20% of current vapers reported that they would smoke more, or revert to smoking, were flavoured liquids to be banned in the UK.
John Dunne, Director General at the UK Vaping Industry Association, said: “Misinformation continues to be a huge challenge for the industry despite its efforts to make consumers aware of the evidence-based facts, including Public Health England’s statement that vaping is at least 95% less harmful than smoking.
“Inaccurate and misleading reporting, together with highly questionable research, gives a negative view of vaping to smokers who may otherwise quit. Even worse, it could make current vapers reconsider whether they’ve made the right move by taking up e-cigarettes.
“There are still 3.2m vapers out there who have made the successful switch but there are also 6.9m smokers – of which nearly a third have not tried vape products. These smokers can still turn to vaping to quit cigarettes and benefit from harm-reduction.”
Gareth Johnson MP (pictured), member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Vaping, commented: “Vaping is significantly safer than smoking and false information to the contrary is literally costing lives. If smokers switch to vaping there is clear scientific evidence that it is better for their health so we need more encouragement of smokers to make this change.”
