Quitters are increasingly turning away from less effective traditional Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) smoking cessation methods, though a continued decline in the smoking rate highlights the success of vaping for cigarette smoking cessation.
According to the latest Public Health England (PHE) data, the number of smokers setting a quit date using traditional NRTs through the NHS Stop Smoking Services hit a record low of 3.5% in 19/20, down from 7.3% in 13/14.
That’s a 52% drop in six years. The figures show that just 1.8% of smokers using the service successfully quit after four weeks in 2019/20. This represents a 51% decrease from 13/14.
Despite this, the percentage of people in England smoking has continued to fall, and currently sits at an all-time low of 13.9%. The new data highlights the ever increasing role of vaping as a smoking cessation tool, with people increasingly taking smoking cessation into their own hands.
The number of ex-smokers who now vape has risen from 11.7% to 12.3%.
The PHE data comes as a new study warns quitting smokers of the potential for relapsing this Christmas — alcohol is the third-most common factor in cigarette cravings, according to the Quitting Smoking for Mental Health Study conducted by the UK’s largest online vaping retailer, Vape Club. 25% of ex-smokers state cravings are at their strongest when drinking alcohol.
New Nicotine Alliance – 2021-12-20.