TV doctor Dr Christian Jessen has launched an awareness and education campaign taking place in Birmingham and other UK cities to encourage the city’s smokers to quit by switching to vaping. In Birmingham, 14% of the population are smokers, approximately 2% below the average in the UK.
Organised by the UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA), the VApril campaign, which is being rolled out across cities throughout the UK during April, follows evidence recently published by Public Health England which highlights that vaping is at least 95% less harmful than smoking and that there are substantial health benefits from completely switching from conventional cigarettes to e-cigarettes.
Smokers are being encouraged to take the VApril challenge by dropping into vaping masterclasses, being provided by specialist vaping stores in the city during April. Participants will receive a free guide – Vape to Break the Smoking Habit - to help them transition from smoking to vaping and give them the best chance of a successful quit.
Dr Christian Jessen said: “According to a recent report by Public Health England (PHE), e-cigarettes may be contributing to at least 20,000 successful new quits per year - with the industry estimating this figure to be much higher. But as a doctor it's disappointing to hear that an estimated 40% of smokers still haven’t even tried vaping.
“I’m delighted to be joining forces with the UK Vaping Industry Association to launch VApril in the city. VApril is all about helping more smokers to make a successful and permanent switchover. I personally believe vaping has overwhelming potential to help smokers break their habit, and this is important because stopping smoking is the single most significant step that people can make to improve their health. We hope that smokers in the city will put down their cigarettes for a month, take the VApril Challenge and themselves the best chance of quitting smoking for good.”
John Dunne, a director of the UK Vaping Industry Association, added: “There is a real need for greater awareness of vaping amongst the millions of smokers still in the UK and getting more of them to consider vaping. Data shows only just 1 in 10 people understand the relative risk of vaping compared to smoking. This is despite consensus amongst high profile and respected healthcare organisations, that vaping is a small fraction of the risk posed by smoking and represents one of the best ways to quit.
“It is estimated that there are currently some 3m vapers in the UK, with almost half of these having quit smoking. VApril aims to encourage the 14% of population in Birmingham who smoke, to think about switching.”
There is a dedicated VApril website – www.vapril.org – where Birmingham’s smokers can find out more information about taking the VApril challenge, hear about vapers’ experiences, download a special guide for first time vapers and access a range of frequently asked questions about vaping.
