Free vapes given out in A&E could save ‘thousands of lives’

Handing out free vapes to smokers in A&E departments could “save thousands of lives”, a new study has found.

Academics from the University of East Anglia (UEA), based in Norwich, conducted a trial in six UK emergency departments, between January and August 2022.

The trial saw hundreds of daily smokers given e-cigarette starter kits and offered advice, with smoking habits assessed six months later.

The university said the approach “could result in more than 22,000 extra people quitting smoking each year”.

During visits to A&E, some 484 patients, who smoked daily, were offered advice from a stop smoking adviser, along with an e-cigarette starter kit and referral to stop smoking services.

A second group of 488 patients was given written information on how to access stop smoking services, but were not referred directly.

The study found that those referred to services and offered vape kits were 76% more likely to have given up compared to the second group, with 7.2% quitting smoking after six months compared to 4.1%.

Researchers said that providing support in emergency departments should be considered, to “reach groups of the population that may not routinely engage with stop smoking services but have the most to gain from stopping smoking”.

Dr Ian Pope, from the UEA Norwich Medical School, said: “Swapping to e-cigarettes could save thousands of lives.

“We believe that if this intervention was widely implemented it could result in more than 22,000 extra people quitting smoking each year,” he added.

“Attending the emergency department offers a valuable opportunity for people to be supported to quit smoking, which will improve their chances of recovery from whatever has brought them to hospital, and also prevent future illness.”

Prof Caitlin Notley, trial co-lead, said vapes could be “an attractive option” to help people stop smoking.

“We know that they are much less harmful than smoking tobacco, and that they have been shown to help smokers quit,” she said.

“About half of all people who smoke will die prematurely, losing on average 10 years of life, and for every death caused by smoking, approximately 30 more people are suffering from a smoking-related disease.”

Hazel Cheeseman, deputy chief executive of the public health charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), said the “compelling” findings should be “carefully considered by those in the NHS and local government who are planning services for smokers”.

“This type of low-cost offer of support combined with an e-cigarette and located where smokers are accessing existing care is exactly what we need to make rapid progress in our efforts to reduce smoking, particularly for disadvantaged groups,” she added.

The findings of the study, which was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), have been published in the Emergency Medicine Journal.

An NHS spokesperson said: “Smoking costs the NHS and the taxpayer billions every year in avoidable health and social care costs.

“Encouraging more people to stop smoking tobacco will support them to have healthier lives.”