Getting the right guidance about switching to vaping is crucial to help smokers successfully quit, according to new research from the UK Vaping Industry Association.
The study showed that six-out-of-ten (57 percent) former smokers said the guidance they received at specialist vape shops was instrumental in helping them give up.
Doug Mutter, a director at leading vape manufacturer and retailer VPZ, said the research underlined the vital role that dedicated vape stores provided in tobacco harm reduction.
He said:
“There is a saying in the industry ‘get the right advice and get the right device’.
“Everyone is different and there is not a one size fits all solution.
“Professional support up front is key – it’s why we set up Vape Clinics in our stores across the UK to provide such high level advice from those who have been there and done it before.”
Doug Mutter, Director, VPZ
The UKVIA survey also showed that while three quarters (73 percent) of respondents were either ‘very pleased’ or ‘to some degree happy’ with the advice they received, one quarter said they received no help at all.
John Dunne, director general of the UKVIA, said:
“The research clearly shows the value vapers place on the advice they received at the outset in helping them switch over from conventional cigarettes.
“It also highlights that the vast majority of established vapers believe that good advice around the transition to vaping will heighten the chances of smokers quitting their habits in the future.
“Yet despite this evidence, good advice was seen to be sorely lacking in some areas when smokers were looking to make a decision about vaping as their preferred quit method.”
John Dunne, Director-General, UKVIA
Other key findings included:
- An overwhelming 90 percent of current vapers believe that smokers more likely to quit if they access good advice up front
- Specialist vape stores were the main source of information for smokers wanting to quit (49 percent)
- Only 2.8 percent and 1.1 percent of respondents got guidance from a supermarket and convenience store respectively
- More than half (54 percent) of those who bought their first vape from a specialist vape store said that the support they received was ‘extremely informative and supportive’
- The numbers reporting that they received ‘extremely informative and supportive’ advice dropped for other retail sources: online retail (25 percent), convenience stores (15 percent) and supermarkets (14 percent).
- Just over a third (38 percent) said they received advice on the challenges that they might face when trying vaping for the first time; with a larger proportion (49 percent) saying that they had not been given any guidance in this area.
- Key triggers to starting vaping included poor health (27 percent), cheaper than cigarettes (52 percent) and pressure from family (13 percent).
The research was undertaken during the UKVIA’s annual VApril event, the largest education campaign for smokers interested in using vaping as a quit method.
