Smokers At NHS Hospitals Offered Free Vaping Kits

Smokers who are admitted to A&E will be offered a free e-cigarette device and will be taught how to use it effectively. This is a positive step that is being taken and we hope that if this trial is successful then this could lead to a larger scale rollout of getting people away from smoking.

This trial is being carried out by the Experts at the University of East Anglia, if the results from the trial proves successful, we could see the NHS routinely provide e-cigarettes as part of its stop smoking programmes. Recently we wrote an article about the ‘World Health Organisation Sets Out To Ban Vaping In The UK’ so we are very happy that this trial is going ahead. It looks as though the Experts at UAE are making a great effort at documenting evidence against the WHO’s recommendations which is due to be discussed later this year. 

WHO has previously said that they have ‘no doubt’ that e-cigarettes are harmful but said it was too early to see any evidence of this. Yet they are fully aware of the long term impact of smoking and their efforts have not gone towards banning smoking. 

Dr Ian Pope, who is a doctor at the University of East Anglia, is co-leading the trial, stated that roughly a quarter of the 24 million annual visitors to A&E are smokers.

“Attending the Emergency Department offers a valuable opportunity for people to be supported to quit smoking, which will improve their chances of recovery from whatever has brought them to hospital, and also prevent future illness,” he said.

Which hospitals are trialing the e-cigarette trial?

The trial will be carried out in only five hospitals in England and Scotland. The Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, the Royal London Hospital and Homerton University Hospital in London, Leicester Royal Infirmary and finally the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.

Though if the trial is a success this could lead to all hospitals offering this service. It could also lead to local Doctor Surgeries offering similar services, though this is speculations. Currently Hospitals and Doctor surgeries often have leaflets and provide support with how to quit smoking but research shows that vaping is a very effective way to quit.

This does not mean that vaping is allowed within the hospital, most hospitals have a designated smoking area and this also applies to vaping.

How to take part in the e-cigarette trial?

The trial will be starting in Autumn this year and will last for 30 months, the research team will be looking at recruiting 1,000 patients to take part in this trial. Once a patient has been treated for their concern at A&E  they will be asked whether they would like to take part in the trial. Exact details on this have not been disclosed yet but we think it’s safe to say that everyone would be advised about the dangers of smoking and the benefits of vaping. A vaping device and E Liquid will be given, we believe it is likely to be enough E Liquid for the first week and then participants of the trial would need to purchase any further E Liquids.

Though it doesn’t seem like everyone joining the trial will be given a vaping device. Others participants will be handed leaflets with details of local smoking- cessation services. Both groups will be asked if they still smoke one, three and six months later.

The trial is likely being carried out this way to see the difference in results with both practices to determine which one was more productive.

Can vaping help you quit smoking?

Thousands of people in the UK have already stopped smoking with the help of vaping and using E Liquids. There's growing evidence that they can be effective.

Using vape e-cigarette devices help to manage your nicotine cravings without consuming any of the harmful chemicals that you get from smoking. To get the best of your vaping device you will need to make sure you are purchasing E Liquids with the right strength of nicotine for your needs. You will only get the full benefit from vaping providing that you have also stopped smoking completely.

Luckily there is a great online community of vapers that are happy to help with any questions, local vape shops also provide excellent and professional advice and finally you can also use our live chat service if you have any questions. Getting expert advice gives you the best chance of quitting smoking for good.

A major UK clinical trial published in 2019 found that, when combined with expert face-to-face support, people who used e-cigarettes to quit smoking were twice as likely to succeed as people who used other nicotine replacement products, such as patches or gum.

Public Health England has found that an estimated 50,000 smokers quit a year in England with the help of vaping. And NHS experts consider them less harmful than traditional traditional cigarettes.

There are many successful quit smoking stories online so if you are serious about quitting and getting your health back on track then we would strongly recommend seeing how other people have kicked the habit. We’ve also discussed our own personal journey, My Journey From Smoker to Vaper.

If you are looking for more information about how smoking cigarettes can harm you we strongly recommend looking on the NHS website.

How safe are e-cigarettes? 

First of all, we want to provide you with a statement from Public Health England as people still ask is vaping safe?

Public Health England found that vaping is 95 percent less harmful than smoking. The study also found that 44 percent of smokers wrongly believed vaping to be just as harmful.

Since the vaping market has grown in the UK there have been many changes to how E Liquids can be made and what ingredients can be used. The UK is one of the strictest countries in the world when it comes to regulation for E Liquids. In 2016 the Tobacco Product Directive (TPD) came into place and changed the vaping world. 

Most people believe it is the nicotine in cigarettes which is the most harmful, and unfortunately this is not true. Studies show that four out of ten non-smokers and smokers believe that nicotine is the cause of tobacco smoking-related cancer. Yes, Nicotine is addictive but evidence shows that nicotine carries minimal risk to your health, it is all the other chemicals in a cigarette which causes the severe health problems and can lead to cancer. Carbon monoxide and tar are the most harmful aspects when it comes to smoking, and vaping E Liquids do not contain these substances.

What happens next? 

The trial is funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and will be run by the Norwich Clinical Trials Unit at UEA. Once the trial has been completed further updates will come out about this.

Professor Caitlin Notley, from the University of East Anglia's Norwich Medical School, which is leading the study, said: "Many people who smoke want to quit, but find it difficult to succeed in the long term. We'll also work out how much it would cost to roll the scheme out nationally." 

Here at Jumponthevape we’re going to be keeping our eye on this as we’re excited to see this potential scheme  being made available