Stoptober: UK stop-smoking campaign says yes to vaping

For the first time, the annual quit-smoking campaign Stoptober is suggesting that smokers use e-cigarettes. Public Health England (PHE) launched Stoptober in 2012.

Stoptober begins Oct. 1 and runs for 28 days. According to PHE, “Stoptober has driven over 1 million quit attempts to date and is the biggest mass quit attempt in the country. It is based on research that shows that if you can stop smoking for 28-days, you are five times more likely to stay smokefree for good.”

Unlike the United States, British public health agencies have been resoundlingly pro-vaping in recent years. PHE published its landmark report “E-cigarettes: an evidence update” in 2015. Since that time, a majority of public health agencies in the country have accepted vaping as a safer alternative for smokers.

Among the sponsors of this year’s Stoptober event is the Independent British Vape Trade Association (IBVTA), a U.K. vape business organization whose members include Liberty Flights, Totally Wicked, and JAC Vapour.

Can vaping really help smokers quit?

At least three studies this year alone have shown vaping to be a valid tool for smokers trying to quit cigarettes. In April, a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed that e-cigarettes were the most popular product used by smokers trying to quit.

In a study published in July, researchers from the University of California-San Diego, studying U.S. Census data, showed that smokers who vape try to quit more than those who don’t, and that of those who try, more smokers who use e-cigarettes succeed.

Then last month, researchers at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and the Rutgers School of Public Health showed that in the last five years, established smokers who vaped daily were twice as likely to have quit smoking than those who didn’t vape.