E CIG: An article I found whilst browsing... - Quit Support

Quit Support

15,424 members30,048 posts

E CIG

jillygirl profile image
jillygirlAdministratorQueen Bee
5 Replies

An article I found whilst browsing. :-

E-cigarette users have tripled to 2 million since 2012, study finds

Survey by Ash finds almost all users are current or ex-smokers using the devices to kick tobacco habit, not new smokers

Sarah Boseley, health editor

The Guardian, Monday 28 April 2014

An e-cigarette user

An e-cigarette user. According to the survey, in 2010, only 2.7% of smokers said they used electronic cigarettes on a regular basis, but now that is up to 17.7%. Photograph: Tim Ireland/PA

More than 2 million people are thought to use electronic cigarettes in Britain, but almost all are current smokers or ex-smokers who use the devices to stay off tobacco, according to a survey published on Monday.

The anti-tobacco charity Ash (Action on Smoking and Health) says the number of e-cigarette users has tripled from 700,000 in 2012. Nearly two-thirds of users are smokers and the other third are ex-smokers, Ash says, while use of the devices among non-smokers is negligible, at only 0.1%.

Ash's findings are released on the day that a consultation on e-cigarette advertising closes. The Advertising Standards Authority has been examining concerns, particularly among public health doctors, that marketing encourages non-smokers and particularly children to try them, and that they will graduate to ordinary cigarettes.

But Ash's survey, carried out by YouGov, suggests this is not happening and that people are using e-cigarettes to kick their tobacco habit instead.

"The dramatic rise in the use of electronic cigarettes over the past four years suggests that smokers are increasingly turning to these devices to help them cut down or quit smoking. Significantly, usage among non-smokers remains negligible," said Deborah Arnott, Ash's chief executive.

"While it is important to control the advertising of electronic cigarettes to make sure children and non-smokers are not being targeted, there is no evidence from our research that e-cigarettes are acting as a gateway into smoking."

YouGov surveyed more than 12,000 people, with Ash extrapolating the total number of e-cigarette users in the population from the findings.

In a similar YouGov survey in 2010, 8.2% of current or ex-smokers had tried e-cigarettes, but now half of them have (51.7%). In 2010, only 2.7% said they used them on a regular basis, but now that is up to 17.7%.

Among current e-cigarette users, the main reason given by ex-smokers was "to help me stop smoking entirely" (71%) and "to help me keep off tobacco" (48%). The main reason given by current smokers was to "help me reduce the amount of tobacco I smoke, but not stop completely" (48%) followed by "to save money compared with smoking tobacco" (37%).

A study from University College London earlier this month had similar findings. The Smoking Toolkit Study carried out in England found that e-cigarettes were taking over from nicotine gum and patches as an aid to giving up smoking.

The leader of that study, Professor Robert West, said: "Despite claims that use of electronic cigarettes risks renormalising smoking, we found no evidence to support this view. On the contrary, electronic cigarettes may be helping to reduce smoking as more people use them as an aid to quitting."

The consultation is looking at whether advertising rules need to be changed for e-cigarettes. Some public health doctors argue that advertising could normalise ordinary cigarettes, which have otherwise become pariah products.

The e-cigarette industry said the Ash survey showed that public health opponents, such as the British Medical Association, were wrong to oppose the devices as determinedly as they do. "Study after study is showing that scaremongering that e-cigarettes are luring people into tobacco is baseless nonsense. The reverse is going on – smokers are switching into e-cigarettes as the way to reduce the harm from tobacco," said Charles Hamshaw-Thomas, legal and corporate affairs director of E-Lites.

Written by
jillygirl profile image
jillygirl
Administrator
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
5 Replies
Pinkiezoom profile image
Pinkiezoom26 Months Winner

Thanks that was a good read, and interesting too! x

Betts profile image
Betts

Good article, thanks jillygirl.

Briarwood profile image
BriarwoodAdministratorDucky

Thanks Jillygirl x :)

EmJay profile image
EmJayPartner

I've just read this article in the Ash Daily News that I get - really interesting isn't it?

Thanks for posting JillyGirl :-)

In fact, I'll set up a weekly post of ASH weekly news and share whatever is going on in the world of Tobacco Control. You may find that it has some interesting information :-)

I'll set that up on a weekly basis :-)

yellowsnowdrop profile image
yellowsnowdrop

REALLY interesting, it seems that the ECig revolution has well & truly taken off. Long may it last.H x

Not what you're looking for?

You may also like...

E CIGS.

Thought I would post this about E.cigs and children. See what you all think. Government To...
jillygirl profile image
Administrator

Electronic Cigarettes

Hi Everyone, I have in front of me the latest document produced by the National Centre for Smoking...
EmJay profile image
Partner

E cig

I was very excited when I managed 8 days without a cigarette and began to prefer my electronic...
wendywoo66 profile image
LONG TERM WINNER

All you ever wanted to know about the e-cig

I found this today. (The link at the bottom, I never intended writing this much of an introduction...

DAILY CHAT/TUESDAY/07/01/2014

Good morning everyone. I hope you are all well and coping with your no smoking routine. Those of...
jillygirl profile image
Administrator

Moderation team

See all
Briarwood profile image
BriarwoodAdministrator
jillygirl profile image
jillygirlAdministrator
TheTabbyCat profile image
TheTabbyCatAdministrator

Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.

Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.