Less than 1% of e-cig users gave up cigarettes and vaping last year, says study
Experts say patches, gums and sprays are still more effective methods of giving up smoking
VAPING helped only around 18,000 smokers quit cigarettes last year, a study suggests.
And less than one per cent of 2.8million e-cig users have given up cigarettes and vaping.
Only 28,000 ditched nicotine completely.
Experts suggest patches, gum and sprays are still more effective at helping wean people off nicotine.
Researchers from University College London studied 43,000 smokers from 2006 to 2015 to see how many quit.
They estimated an average of around 350 people a week ditched cigarettes for vaping last year.
Cancer Research UK, which funded the study, said: “E-cigs can play a role in helping people quit and the evidence so far shows they are much safer than tobacco.”
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Dr Mike Knapton, of the British Heart Foundation, said: “E-cigarettes improve the likelihood of someone quitting.
“But we need to assess whether or not they are as safe as people think. In the meantime the most effective way to quit is to use the NHS Stop Smoking Service.”
A cardiology conference in Rome last month heard e-cigs could be bad for the heart.
But a separate review out today says they have no serious side-effects.
