The NHS Information Centre announced yesterday that 788,000 people used quit smoking services in England this year at a cost of £84.3m but that worryingly over half of them (384,000) returned to smoking shortly afterwards. Even among those who did quit, many are likely to have returned to smoking in the following months.
The new figures prove the quit smoking policy is failing to save a large proportion of smokers from the most harmful effects of cigarettes, or so says the leading UK electronic cigarette manufacturer, E-Lites.
The company is calling for a closer examination of the benefits of harm reduction, rather than a devotion to smoking cessation, alone.
E-Lites director Dermot Ryan points out: “What these new figures tell us is while quitting services are helpful to many smokers, a majority of them are still not being helped. Perhaps it’s time to look at other options and consider the benefits of harm reduction.
Products like E-Lites provide smokers with the nicotine they crave, but without the harmful carcinogenic effects of tar, tobacco and hidden chemicals. We believe it’s a far more realistic approach for those who cannot quit, or do not wish to quit. If only more people realised the healthier alternatives that are open to them.”
FACTFILE:
E-Lites (www.e-lites.co.uk) was established in the UK in 2007 and is already a leader in its field, producing some of the most advanced electronic cigarettes on the market. The company is expanding nationally and internationally as demand grows for its innovative products.
Its latest range of new-generation E-Lites are the result of extensive UK research and development.
Michael Ryan, one of the founding directors of E-Lites, is also chairman of the Electronic Cigarette Industry Trade Association (ECITA), a representative body which provides advice, guidelines and support to members, as well as working to ensure the correct regulatory framework is applied to such products. For more information, visit www.ecita.org.uk
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