Is Vaping Safer than Smoking?

The latest report from the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID), which was formerly known as Public Health England, provides a comprehensive overview of the latest research and evidence on vaping in the UK. The report confirms that vaping is a safer alternative to smoking, with both Cancer Research UK and OHID stating that vaping is 95% less harmful than smoking. The report also highlighted the effectiveness of vaping as a tool for quitting smoking, with a 65% success rate among quitters.

The report also addressed the issue of regulations and the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 (TRPR) which are in place to ensure the safety of vaping products. However, it has been found that non-compliant devices that do not conform to TRPR, including devices with high nicotine strengths and large liquid capacities, are becoming increasingly common in the market. The report calls for stricter regulations to prevent the importation of these illegal devices.

The report also highlighted the increasing number of young people who are smoking and vaping, with 6% of surveyed young people admitting to smoking, and 8.6% of surveyed young people admitting to vaping. However, the report also noted that only 1.7% of young people who have never smoked are vaping. Furthermore, the report showed that the number of adult vapers in England is approximately 3.15 million, with 15% of adult vapers using disposable devices.

The report also highlighted a concerning lack of awareness among smokers about the relative harm of vaping compared to smoking, with only 34% of adult smokers knowing that vaping is less harmful than smoking. The report concludes that there is a need for more accurate information to be provided to the public about vaping, particularly in regards to the harm of vaping and the effectiveness of vaping as a tool for quitting smoking.