Most E-cigarette Use ''to Help Smokers Quit''

Source from:  WebMD 02/19/2016

Most people who use e-cigarettes are vaping to help them stop smoking tobacco, new official figures show.

Statisticians also report that the number of men smoking tobacco has reached an historic low. However, anti-smoking campaigners say, overall, the long-term decline in tobacco use may be stalling.

The report by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) covers e-cigarette use in 2015 and tobacco smoking in 2014. Both surveys cover England, Scotland and Wales.

Vaping

Since e-cigarettes were introduced, opinion has been divided between those who view them as a useful aid to quitting smoking and others who believe they act as a gateway to tobacco use among young people.

The ONS survey found there were 2.2 million people in Great Britain who currently use e-cigarettes, or 4% of the population.

There were 3.9 million former users of e-cigarettes and a further 2.6 million who said they had tried them but never became regular users.

Of those who currently vape:
53% said their main reason was to help them stop smoking tobacco
22% said they used e-cigarettes because they felt they were less harmful than cigarettes
9% said the cheaper cost of e-cigarettes compared with tobacco was the main motivation
9% were attracted to e-cigarettes because they were able to vape indoors.

Most people who vape say they use an e-cigarette on a daily basis, with the most common choice being a device that does not resemble a real cigarette.

Smoking

The percentage of current smokers aged 16 and over in Great Britain remains unchanged at 19% compared with the previous year.

The figure for men - 20% - is the lowest on record, while the 17% of women who smoke was unchanged on 2013.

Current government targets are to cut smoking rates to 18.5% of the population of England by 2015, 5% in Scotland by 2034 and 16% in Wales by 2020.

Average consumption among smokers was 11.4 cigarettes a day, down from a peak of 16.8 in 1976.

Just over 1 in 10 babies were born to women who smoked.

Commenting on the report, Deborah Arnott, chief executive of health charity ASH, describes as "worrying" the absence of a year-on-year overall drop in smoking rates. She says in an emailed statement: "The evidence is clear that if we are to continue to drive down smoking we need a comprehensive tobacco control policy that includes mass media campaigns and help for smokers who want to quit.

"We urge the Government to publish a new tobacco control strategy as soon as possible."

Long-term decline

However, Jamie Jenkins, senior ONS statistician, comments in a statement: "These figures continue a long-term trend for fewer people to smoke cigarettes - only 19% of adults today compared with 46% when our survey began in 1976.

"While the majority of people are using e-cigarettes as an aid to quit smoking it seems they don't work for everyone, as three-quarters of former vapers are still smoking cigarettes."

Deaths from smoking

Smoking is the leading cause of preventable deaths in Great Britain.

In 2013, almost 80,000 deaths were attributable to smoking in England.

Estimates from the Scottish and Welsh governments suggest that smoking is responsible for 13,500 deaths each year in Scotland and 5,500 in Wales.

Research has shown that smoking cost the NHS in the UK £5.2 billion in 2005-6.

In 2013-14, approximately 4% of all hospital admissions in England for those aged 35 and over were due to smoking. Enditem