VPZ is the UK’s leading vaping retailer with over 160 stores throughout the UK. Since it was established in 2012 it has helped over 700,000 smokers quit.
VPZ Director Doug Mutter says the 12 per cent rise in vape sales figures across the industry is no surprise due to its effectiveness as a smoking cessation tool but urged the wider industry to take steps to educate consumers on sustainable products.
Doug said: “The significant increase in sales figures across the industry last month highlights once again that vaping is the best way for people to quit smoking and make a major lifestyle that improves your health and financial wellbeing.
“At VPZ, our stores offer a dedicated one-to-one service to help smokers quit and our consumer intelligence tells us that the majority of customers prefer being instore where they can access a personalised service and get the right guidance and advice from our staff that can’t be accessed elsewhere.
“VPZ specialists are trained and have expert knowledge, engaging with smokers to educate them on the health, environmental and financial benefits of switching to reusable and sustainable vaping products.
“Our approach gives adult smokers the help and advice they need at a time when local stop smoking services across the country are under threat whilst supporting the country’s ambitions to become a smoke free nation by 2030.
“As the UK’s leading vaping retailer we are supportive of the Government’s disposable vape ban but it’s important that they take on board advice and guidance to regain much-needed momentum and ensure that the country meets its targets.”
ASH Scotland celebrates 50 years of taking action of smoking and health by highlighting its collaborative community work in North Edinburgh
ASH Scotland kickstarted a series of nationwide community-focused events celebrating the charity’s 50th anniversary by highlighting its collaborative work with Pilton Community Health Project (PCHP) in raising awareness of the harms caused by tobacco, and the free support that is available from the NHS to support people aiming to give up smoking.
Lord Provost of Edinburgh, Councillor Robert Aldridge, Foysol Choudhury MSP along with Edinburgh City Councillors Tim Pogson and Max Mitchell attended the celebration.
Founded in 1973 by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, ASH Scotland is one of four Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) charities, which were initially one UK-wide organisation and became independent of each other in 1993.
ASH Scotland’s headquarters are located on Frederick Street in the city centre and, as part of its engagement work, the charity offers information, training and support to help community groups and charities operating in communities in Edinburgh, across Lothian and throughout Scotland to tackle the use of tobacco and related products.
Lord Provost of Edinburgh, Councillor Robert Aldridge, said: “I’m delighted on behalf of the city of Edinburgh to congratulate ASH Scotland for reaching 50 years and delivering successful work taking action on smoking and health.
“We all hope Scotland will soon become tobacco-free and I’d particularly like to commend ASH Scotland on its work to prevent future generations growing up from addiction to tobacco and related products.”
Former MP, MSP and Health MinisterMalcolm Chisholm, a PCHP Board member, said: “It’s great to get together to celebrate 50 years of ASH Scotland and the charity’s amazing work in partnership with Pilton Community Health Project who, next year, will commemorate our 40th anniversary.
“ASH Scotland is a community wellbeing partner for our project, and we have shared origins with Sir John Crofton being instrumental in founding both organisations.
“At PCHP we work to address health inequalities, both social circumstances and behaviours such as smoking where there are much higher rates in the most deprived areas compared to the least disadvantaged. NHS Lothian has an important role in offering smoking cessation services, and project like ours, which has close relationships with communities, are also vital in encouraging local people to take steps towards better health.
“We very much look to ASH Scotland to continue to point the way forwards for all the actions that are needed to deliver a tobacco-free Scotland.”
Sheila Duffy, Chief Executive of ASH Scotland, said: “Pilton Community Health Project, the oldest community health project in Scotland, was an ideal location to celebrate ASH Scotland’s 50th anniversary as both organisations have a shared heritage in the form of the late Sir John Crofton, a world leader in respiratory medicine who was a key figure in starting the charity, and his wife Dr Eileen Crofton, who became our first Director.
“Working in communities to support pioneering organisations such as PCHP in Pilton along with NHS in Scotland’s Quit Your Way services is a priority for ASH Scotland as we seek to raise much-needed awareness about the expert person-centred advice that is freely available from qualified health professionals to support people to quit smoking and help Scotland progress towards becoming a tobacco-free generation.”
Anyone with the goal of giving up smoking can contact a Quit Your Way adviser by calling the free helpline on 0800 848484 or create a quit plan at:
UK Government seeks views on adding pack inserts to tobacco products to encourage smokers to quit
Pack inserts are used internationally including in Canada and Israel, and proven to encourage people to give up smoking
Initial report on the Major Conditions Strategy to be published today
The UK government will seek views on adding pack inserts into tobacco products to encourage more smokers to quit as it launches a new consultation today.
Placed inside the packaging of cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco, they would contain positive messages to encourage people to quit and signpost them to advice and support.
The messages set out the health benefits of quitting – for example, improvements to breathing within a matter of days and a 50% reduction in the risk of heart attack within a year – as well as showing smokers how much money they stand to save by giving up, with the average person likely to save over £2,000 per year if they quit.
Smoking remains the single leading preventable cause of illness and mortality in the UK. It results in nearly 4% of all hospital admissions each year – equivalent to almost 450,000 admissions. Tobacco-related harms are also estimated to cost taxpayers an estimated £21 billion every year, including over £2 billion in costs to the NHS.
Although smoking rates in the UK are at an all-time low, by taking further action, the government will seek to cut waiting lists and reduce the burden on the NHS. Introducing pack inserts into all tobacco products in the UK could lead to an additional 30,000 smokers giving up their habit – delivering health benefits worth £1.6 billion.
Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said: “Smoking places a huge burden on the NHS, economy and individuals. It directly causes a whole host of health problems – including cancers and cardiovascular disease – and costs the economy billions every year in lost productivity.
By taking action to reduce smoking rates and pursuing our ambition to be smokefree by 2030, we will reduce the pressure on the NHS and help people to live healthier lives.”
The consultation – which opens today – will seek views on the introduction and design of pack inserts.
Pack inserts are already used in other countries – including Canada and Israel, with Australia also announcing its intention to introduce them – and there is evidence that they can be an effective means of encouraging smokers to quit.
An evaluation of the policy’s impact in Canada found that almost 1 in 3 smokers had read the inserts at least once in the past month, and that those who were exposed to the inserts multiple times were significantly more likely to try to give up smoking.
The consultation builds on a recent package of measures designed to drive the government’s ambition to be smokefree by 2030 – which means reducing smoking rates to 5% or less.
These measures include:
Funding a new national ‘swap to stop’ scheme – the first of its kind in the world – to offer a million smokers across England a free vaping starter kit, alongside expert support
Launching a financial incentive scheme – in the form of vouchers alongside behavioural support – to support pregnant women to stop smoking, with an aim to reach all pregnant smokers by the end of next year
A new strategy to combat illicit tobacco, which will outline efforts to catch and punish those involved in the illegal market
Deborah Arnott, chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), said: “Smoking is very addictive, and it takes smokers on average thirty attempts before they succeed in stopping, so encouraging them to keep on trying is vital.
“Pack inserts do this by backing up the grim messages about death and disease on the outside with the best advice about how to quit on the inside.
“They will help deliver not just the Smokefree 2030 ambition, but also the Major Conditions Strategy, as smoking is responsible for all six major conditions from cancer to cardiovascular and respiratory disease, as well as dementia, mental ill health and musculoskeletal disorders.”
The consultation launch comes as the government publishes an initial report on its Major Conditions Strategy – which covers the six groups of conditions accounting for 60% of all ill-health and early death in England.
One in four people in England live with two or more major long-term conditions, and the initial report sets out the direction for the strategy to tackle these groups of conditions – cancers, cardiovascular diseases (including stroke and diabetes), musculoskeletal disorders, mental ill health, dementia and chronic respiratory conditions.
This includes by addressing key risk factors and lifestyle drivers of ill-health and disease, including smoking, which is a direct contributor to all six groups of conditions covered by the strategy. For example, it is the biggest cause of cancer, with one in every five cancer deaths in England connected to smoking.
A world leader in reducing smoking rates, UK levels are currently at their lowest on record at 13.3%. But across the UK, 1 in 7 adults still smoke – around 6.6 million people – and the impacts on the NHS and economy are significant.
Tobacco also costs the economy in England an estimated £14 billion in lost productivity every year, due to lost earnings, unemployment and early deaths. The average smoker stands to save approximately £2,000 per year from giving up their habit.
Pregnant women will also be offered financial incentives to help them quit as part of a sweeping package of measures to cut smoking rates in England
One million smokers will be encouraged to swap cigarettes for vapes under a pioneering new “swap to stop” scheme designed to improve the health of the nation and cut smoking rates.
As part of the world-first national scheme, almost one in five of all smokers in England will be provided with a vape starter kit alongside behavioural support to help them quit the habit as part of a series of new measures to help the government meet its ambition of being smokefree by 2030 – reducing smoking rates to 5% or less. Local authorities will be invited to take part in the scheme later this year and will design a scheme which suits its needs, including deciding which populations to prioritise.
In a speech today, Health Minister Neil O’Brien will also announce that following the success of local schemes, pregnant women will be offered financial incentives to help them stop smoking. This will involve offering vouchers, alongside behavioural support, to all pregnant women who smoke by the end of next year.
The government will also consult on introducing mandatory cigarette pack inserts with positive messages and information to help people to quit smoking.
Additionally, there will be a crackdown on illicit vape sales as part of measures to stop children and non-smokers take up the habit – which is growing in popularity among young people.
Health Minister Neil O’Brien will say: “Up to two out of three lifelong smokers will die from smoking. Cigarettes are the only product on sale which will kill you if used correctly.
“We will offer a million smokers new help to quit. We will be funding a new national ‘swap to stop’ scheme – the first of its kind in the world. We will work with councils and others to offer a million smokers across England a free vaping starter kit.”
The new policies will deliver the UK Government’s three aims to help more adults quit smoking, stop children and non-smokers from taking up vaping, and using vaping as a tool for established adult smokers to quit.
For those who quit, the risk of heart attack is halved after one year of quitting, ultimately halving the likelihood of ending up in a hospital bed or worse.
Supporting more women to have a smokefree pregnancy will reduce the number of babies born underweight or underdeveloped with health problems requiring neonatal and ongoing care. It will also reduce the risk of miscarriage and stillbirth.
Cutting smoking rates reduces the number of smoking-related illnesses needing to be treated, in turn reducing the pressure on the NHS, helping to deliver on our priority to cut NHS waiting lists.
NHS figures for 2021 showed that 9% of 11- to 15-year-old children used e-cigarettes, up from 6% in 2018.
In recognition of the sharp increase, Minister O’Brien will launch a Call for Evidence on youth vaping to identify opportunities to reduce the number of children accessing and using vape products – and explore where government can go further.
Working with enforcement agencies and learning from the government’s work with Trading Standards on illicit tobacco, £3 million of new funding will also be provided to create a specialised ‘illicit vapes enforcement squad’ to enforce the rules on vaping and tackle illicit vapes and underage sales.
As part of the measures, HMRC and Border Force will also be publishing an updated strategy this year to tackle illicit tobacco. It will lay out strategically how we continue to target, catch and punish those involved in the illicit tobacco market.
Smoking prevalence in England in 2021 was 13% – the lowest on record thanks to measures such as doubling duty on cigarettes since 2010 and continued funding to local stop smoking services
In 2021-22, £68 million of public health grant funded was spent on stop smoking services by local authorities and nearly 100,000 people quit with the support of a stop smoking service.
In addition, £35 million has been committed to the NHS this year so that all smokers admitted to hospital will be offered NHS-funded tobacco treatment services.
However, 5.4 million people in England smoke tobacco which remains the single biggest cause of preventable illness and death. Up to two out of three lifelong smokers will die from smoking and recent data shows one in four deaths from all cancers were estimated to be from smoking.
Last year an independent smoking review led by Javed Khan proposed a range of measures to help people stub out the addiction, which has informed the measures set out today.
Its #NoSmokingDay next week! Pilton Community Health Project would love to hear your stories of quitting, trying to quit, successfully quitting …. call us on 0131 551 1571 or email Dawn on dawnanderson@pchp.org.uk to book in for lunch with us and @ASHScotland@QYWLothian@NHS_Lothian …
Health charity urges Scottish Government to increase cessation support for Scotland’s 730,000 smokers
ASH Scotland is urging the Scottish Government to boost specialist cessation services for the estimated 730,000 Scots who smoke, after it emerged that quit smoking attempts have dropped by more than a third compared to the year before the COVID-19 pandemic started.
The latest annual NHS Stop Smoking Services Scotland report (April 2021 to March 2022) published by Public Health Scotland today (Tuesday 21 February 2023) reveals there were 31,359 quit smoking attempts, around 17,000 fewer than the 48,749 in 2019/20.
With smoking continuing to cause 100,000 hospitalisations and 9,000 deaths in Scotland each year, and the 2034 target for the country to be tobacco-free on track to be missed by an estimated 16 years, ASH Scotland says it is vitally important that the Scottish Government and health boards consider the promotion and expansion of the country’s smoking cessation services as top priorities.
Sheila Duffy, Chief Executive of the health charity ASH Scotland, said: “It is alarming that these latest figures show stop smoking attempts with NHS support have fallen for the 10th consecutive year and by almost 75% since the peak of 121,385 attempts in 2011/12.
“At a time when the health service is under considerable pressure and smoking continues to be the biggest preventable cause of illness and death, swift action is required by the Scottish Government and health boards to ensure NHS Quit Your Way services are promoted and better resourced to reach more of the two-thirds of Scots who smoke and want to quit.
“Quit Your Way services, which provide specialist person-centred smoking cessation support, must be boosted as a matter of urgency to continue their critical role helping people who have the highest smoking rates, such as those living in our most deprived communities, and experiencing mental health problems, to leave tobacco behind.”
ASH Scotland research suggests that smoking prevalence for people experiencing mental health problems in Scotland’s poorest communities is between 40 to 50 per cent, comparable to the country’s general population smoking rates of the mid-1970s.
People aiming to give up smoking can call Quit Your Way’s free helpline on 0800 84 84 84 or create a quit plan at www.QuitYourWay.scot.
ASH Scotland’s Closing the Inequality Gap: Smoking and Mental Health report, published in 2022, can be downloaded at www.ashscotland.org.uk/mentalhealth
Wednesday 9th March marks National No Smoking Day in the UK.
Nicotine drives up blood pressure and heart rate, putting immediate and long-term strain on your heart and arteries. The carbon monoxide in cigarettes means less life-giving oxygen for all your tissues, including your heart.
This is harmful to your health and can reduce your life expectancy whether you smoke a lot or a little.
If you would like to add more healthy years to your life, then why not look through our tips on how to quit smoking today.
Find YOUR Incentive
Most smokers know that smoking is bad for their health, but it can be incredibly difficult to quit.
Hard-hitting warnings are proven to help smokers ditch the habit. Whether it’s a shocking image on a cigarette packet, a hole in your wallet, or a noticeable decline in your fitness, try to stay focused on the reasons why you want to quit to keep yourself motivated.
Seek Support
Getting support to stop smoking can increase your chances of success. You could try contacting your local Stop Smoking Services or chatting to your GP. You could also seek advice from a friend or family member who has successfully stopped smoking.
Tackle the cravings
Cigarette cravings are intense urges to smoke and they can last for 5 minutes. Quitting smoking requires a huge amount of willpower. When you get a craving, try to distract yourself for 5-10 minutes until it passes.
You could try planning a healthy dinner or plan a route for a walk. Once the craving has passed, give yourself a pat on the back!
Whatever your reason for wanting to stop smoking, make a plan that works for you and remember that help is available. If you don’t succeed on your first attempt to quit, keep trying! Good luck!
