Millions of ex-smokers have turned to vaping to try and prevent a relapse which is good news for some, but potentially bad news for others, according to scientists. A study led by UCL researchers has found that about one in five people who have stopped smoking for more than a year in England currently vape , equivalent to 2.2 million people.
The study, published in the journal BMC Medicine and funded by Cancer Research UK, found that this increased prevalence was largely driven by greater use of e-cigarettes in attempts to quit smoking . However, the researchers also found a rise in vaping uptake among people who had already stopped smoking, with an estimated one in 10 ex-smokers who vape having quit smoking prior to 2011, when e-cigarettes started to become popular. Some of those smokers had quit for many years before taking up vaping.
“On one hand, the results indicate that people who use e-cigarettes to stop smoking are often using them for more than a year to help them stay smoke-free,” said Dr Jasmine Khouja, senior research associate in the tobacco and alcohol research group at the University of Bristol. “On the other hand, there is a small proportion of people who gave up smoking 14 or more years ago and likely did not use e-cigarettes to help them stop smoking that have recently taken up vaping. These people could have been tempted to use nicotine again by new products like disposable vapes .
“However, after a pandemic and financial crisis in the UK, some of t.