Smokers in West Yorkshire to be helped to quit with e-cigarettes

You might imagine that our team here at £1 Vape would always be interested in hearing about the many ways e-cigarettes have been used – and continue to be used – by people to help them kick their smoking habit. And sure enough, you would be right – even more so at this time of year, when such great numbers of us are considering how we can live more healthily.

It therefore intrigued us to read recently about a new partnership between Kirklees Council and the Yorkshire Cancer Research charity, whereby vaping devices will be offered to those wishing to quit their use of traditional cigarettes for good.

What exactly does the scheme entail?

As explained by the council’s official news website Kirklees Together, the vaping devices are being made available through the Kirklees Wellness Service, which supports local over-18s to live healthier and happier lives, and the Auntie Pam’s Service, which supports pregnant women and new parents in their efforts to quit smoking.

We have previously reported ourselves on the plentiful evidence that choosing to switch from traditional smoking to vaping could be greatly beneficial to one’s health. The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID), for instance – formerly Public Health England (PHE) – has estimated vaping to be around 95% less harmful than tobacco.

That’s before we even touch upon the recent review of evidence by Cochrane, which found vaping devices to be much more effective than nicotine replacement therapy when it comes to helping smokers ditch the habit.

It’s no wonder, then, that vaping is also the most popular means by which smokers look to quit. It is thought that there are as many as 57,000 additional quitters annually in England as a result of e-cigarettes, including 5,000 a year in Yorkshire alone.

“We are committed to saving lives”

Councillor Musarrat Khan, the council’s cabinet member for health and social care, commented: “I am delighted to see the launch of this Vaping Device scheme here in Kirklees. As a council we are committed to tackling health inequalities and the vaping device offer from Yorkshire Cancer Research will help those residents who want to stop smoking live healthier lives and have a positive impact on their family and friends.”

Yorkshire Cancer Research’s director of research, services and policy, Dr Stuart Griffiths, added: “As a charity, we are committed to saving lives by helping more people quit smoking for good. Yorkshire has the highest smoking rate in England, and this causes thousands of smoking-related cancers and needless deaths in our region each year.

“We are delighted to be working with Kirklees Council to help bring this important option to people who are desperate to quit but need access to the best possible support. It’s vital that stop smoking services across Yorkshire seek to provide their clients with this valuable aid.”
More information about the Kirklees Wellness Service and the Auntie Pam’s Service can be found at www.kirkleeswellnessservice.co.uk and www.auntiepams.org.uk respectively.