A new initiative by Britain’s Department of Health in partnership with public health, called Swap to Stop, is distributing e-cigarettes to 1 million smokers to help them quit.
The exact number of smokers in England approaching 6.6 million people was collected since the last census in 2021 and amounts to around 13.3% of the population. Britain’s National Health Service is set to distribute e-cigarettes to one million smokers in a bid to persuade them to quit.
The UK government website states that “One million smokers will be encouraged to swap cigarettes for vapes under a pioneering new ‘swap to stop’ scheme designed to improve the health of the nation and cut smoking rates. As part of the world-first national scheme, almost 1 in 5 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% or less. Local authorities will be invited to take part in the scheme later this year and each will design a scheme which suits its needs, including deciding which populations to prioritise.”.
The programme runs for two years and is the first of its kind worldwide to receive nationwide reach following its successful implementation in a limited number of cities including Bath, Southampton, Sheffield and Plymouth. Its announcement coincides with the speech of the deputy minister of public health to eliminate smoking by less than 5% by 2030.
The Deputy Minister of Health Neil O’Brien announced and reiterated the launch of the two-year program and referred to the violation of the nicotine limit of the Chinese brand of e-cigarettes Elf Bar, which were voluntarily withdrawn from supermarkets partially from the market. He also announced the mandatory insertion of information cards inside cigarette packets giving information on smoking cessation.
The Secretary of State pointed out that the one-on-one cut and withdrawal of all smoking with the annual increase in the minimum age for tobacco purchase implemented in New Zealand is not the right solution and direction of the British government instead of helping the population to quit per person. The Secretary of State received a second question from the audience that was present on the same subject. However, it is speculated by many observers that a Labour government, which is the favourite for the next general election after the end of the current five-year term in 2024, may attempt to eliminate smoking with this method without following in the steps of the current Conservative government. The deputy health minister said that smoking cessation using e-cigarettes is followed by the subsequent cessation of their use, which is practised as described by public smoking cessation services in New Zealand.
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