Vaping May Help Tens of Thousands Quit Smoking, U.K. Study Shows

(Bloomberg) -- Vaping has helped tens of thousands of Britons quit smoking each year, a study showed, underlining the U.K.’s more tolerant stance on the alternative to cigarettes as a backlash grows in the U.S.

Roughly 50,000 to 70,000 U.K. smokers are giving up annually and embracing e-cigarettes, according to the report by researchers at University College London. The study analyzed the rise of vaping since 2011, saying it correlated with a pattern of declining smoking rates since then.

The report highlights a difference in attitudes toward vaping in the U.S. and the U.K. A number of American states and cities have limited access to the new devices following more than 1,000 cases of ailments that have largely been linked to liquids laced with the psychoactive compound in cannabis.

There’s been no similar spread of illness in Europe, and U.K. health officials have reiterated their stance that vaping is less harmful than cigarettes, encouraging smokers to switch.

“England seems to have found a sensible balance between regulation and promotion of e-cigarettes,” said lead author Emma Beard. “Millions of smokers are using them to try to stop smoking or to cut down the amount they smoke.”

Data were based on thousands of smokers between 2006 and 2017, tracking their efforts to quit and their use of e-cigarettes. The findings were published Thursday by the scientific journal Addiction, and the study was funded by Cancer Research U.K.

Michael R. Bloomberg, the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP, has campaigned and given money in support of a ban on flavored e-cigarettes and tobacco and supports efforts to reduce global demand for tobacco worldwide.

To contact the reporter on this story: Corinne Gretler in Zurich at cgretler1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Eric Pfanner at epfanner1@bloomberg.net

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