British Psychological Society Report Recommends Promoting E-Cigarettes to Help Smokers Quit

silhouette of a man vaping in an island

British Psychological Society Report Recommends Promoting E-Cigarettes to Help Smokers Quit

According to a new report published by the British Psychological Society, e-cigarettes are a recommended tool to quit smoking. The report, entitled “Changing Behaviour: Electronic Cigarettes,” was published this past October and was written by Dr. Lynne Dawkins and Dr. Hayden McRobbie. The report is an attempt to guide behavior with respect to smoking cessation and related educational activity.

According to co-author Dawkins, Associate Professor at London South Bank University, “for smokers trying to quit, e-cigarettes are more attractive than traditional smoking cessation methods, such as nicotine replacement therapy, and at least as effective. There is also mounting evidence that they are much safer than tobacco smoking.”

In addition to broadly endorsing vaping as a method of quitting smoking, the report makes specific recommendations. For instance, it recommends improving education with respect to the relative harms of smoking cigarettes and vaping e-cigarettes. The report also recommends introducing the use of e-cigarettes into the government’s Stop Smoking Services. Furthermore, it suggests undertaking fiscal measures to raise the cost of cigarettes and lower the cost of e-cigarettes, as well as pursuing policies which will promote vaping over smoking, including instituting “smoke-free” legislation while avoiding “vape-free” legislation.

Additionally, the report recommends adopting regulations which will lead to the evolution and improvement of e-cigarettes through successful product development efforts. Lastly, the report states that the government should invest in research that studies the effects of vaping on smoking cessation. According to the report, such research would also elucidate which factors contribute to a successful transition from smoking to vaping.

All in all, the report reinforces what a lot of studies lately have been saying: e-cigarettes are an effective tool for those attempting to quit smoking.

Have you ever used vaping to help quit cigarettes? Let us know in the comments below!

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