Yorkshire charity urges MPs to protect appeal of vaping for people who smoke

Yorkshire Cancer Research is urging MPs to protect the appeal of vaping as a tool to quit smoking ahead of Tuesday’s second reading of the government’s Tobacco and Vapes Bill in the House of Commons.

The charity is calling on politicians to consider the value of vaping for people who smoke when they debate the Bill’s proposed measures, which include restrictions on vaping flavours and a ban on vaping in public places.

Nearly 7,000 people die each year from smoking in Yorkshire. Vaping products are far less harmful than smoking, and are the most popular stop smoking aid in England.

Yorkshire Cancer Research estimates that there are more than 4,600 additional quitters each year in Yorkshire because of vaping products.

While Yorkshire Cancer Research agrees that more action is needed to reduce vaping among young people, the charity is concerned that restricting flavours could have a detrimental effect on people who use vaping products to stop smoking, with evidence suggesting that certain flavours are associated with a higher smoking quit rate.

Yorkshire Cancer Research is also recommending that further consultation and research is undertaken before restrictions on vaping in smokefree areas are imposed. While strongly supporting the Bill’s proposed outdoor smoking ban, particularly on hospital grounds and children’s areas, the charity is concerned that introducing powers to include vaping fully within this restriction could deter people who smoke from swapping to a less harmful option.

Dr Griffiths continued: “There is strong evidence that allowing vaping in public places encourages young people who do not smoke to take up vaping. As a result, we support schools and areas with children and young people, such as playgrounds, becoming vapefree. However, we would encourage the Government to exempt certain places, such as hospitals, to lessen the risk of people who smoke being discouraged from using vapes as a quit tool.”

Other measures included in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill and strongly supported by the charity include raising the legal age of using tobacco by one year every year, so that people born on or after 1 January 2009 will never be able to legally buy tobacco products.

The charity also agrees that introducing restrictions on the branding, packaging, display and advertising of vaping products could help deter young people and adults who do not smoke from vaping while having limited impact on their appeal and use as a quit tool by people who smoke.

Dr Griffiths added: “Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable ill health, health inequalities and early death in Yorkshire. It causes approximately 15% of all cancers in England and more than 4,600 new cases of cancer in Yorkshire each year. Bold action is desperately needed to tackle the impact of smoking, which is felt most acutely by the most disadvantaged.”