Vaping safer than smoking so why are people struggling to quit e-cigarettes?

"More socially acceptable than smoking yet just as addictive vaping has become the UK's default way of consuming nicotine. Figures published by the Office for National Statistics last month showed that the number of over-16s in Great Britain who use vapes or e-cigarettes has overtaken the number who smoke cigarettes for the first time, with 5.4 million adults now vaping daily or occasionally, compared with 4.9 million who smoke."

"Confusion about risk may be compounding the problem. Some public health experts worry that the risks of vaping may have been overstated and that this could be inadvertently encouraging a new generation of smokers. Data released in September by the charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) found that 63% of young people now believe vaping is as harmful as, or more harmful than, smoking, despite decades of evidence showing cigarettes remain far more dangerous."

Vaping is more socially acceptable than smoking but similarly addictive, and now more adults in Great Britain vape (5.4 million) than smoke (4.9 million). Many vapers want to stop or cut down and find quitting harder than expected; some even contemplate returning to cigarettes because smoking was harder to do covertly. Confusion about relative risk is growing, with some experts warning that overstating vaping harms could encourage smoking. Action on Smoking and Health found 63% of young people believe vaping is as harmful as or more harmful than smoking, despite long-standing evidence that cigarettes remain far more dangerous. Public health experts assert vaping and smoking occupy very different risk categories and that vaping is far less harmful than smoking.

Read at www.theguardian.com