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Charity Welcomes Vape Recommendations
It may have taken some time for official bodies to recognise the health benefits of switching from smoking to vaping, but it appears the message has got through – to the delight of one charity in Yorkshire.
Yorkshire Cancer Research has welcomed the news that the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has finally included vapes in its list of recommended nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs) for those trying to stop smoking.
Chief executive of the charity Dr Kathryn Scott said: “The Charity’s goal is for 2,000 more people in Yorkshire to survive cancer every year,” noting that every year over 4,500 cases of cancer in the region are linked to smoking, which means cutting this will help achieve their goal.
She added: “Easy and reliable access to vaping products will give more people in Yorkshire the best chance of quitting for good.”
Yorkshire has a particular problem in this area, as 15.4 per cent of adults in the county smoke, the highest level of any region and well above the national figure of 13.9 per cent.
The news should encourage those looking for healthier options to lighting up that they should get some vape supplies to ensure they have a better prospect of avoiding the serious health consequences smoking can bring.
NICE published its latest tobacco guidelines on November 30th. The section explaining the reasons for including vaping among the means of weaning people off smoking said: “Evidence showed that nicotine-containing e-cigarettes can help people to stop smoking and are of similar effectiveness to other cessation options such as varenicline or long-acting and short-acting NRT.”
It added that: “The extensive harms of smoking are well known, and the committee agreed it is unlikely that e-cigarettes could cause similar levels of harm.”
Moreover, NICE said it had “low confidence” in the studies produced so far seeking evidence of any harm from vaping and reasoned that as many harmful substances in cigarettes are not present in vapes, the latter are bound to be a better option.