More and more people are switching to vapes (Picture: PA)
The NHS could save more than £500 million per year if half of England’s adult smokers switched to e-cigarettes, a study has claimed.
Researchers at Brunel University London found that between 2019 and 2021, 13.6% of people aged 18 and over smoked.
The lowest rate of smokers is in the South East (12.2%) compared to 14.1% in the Midlands, 14.6% in the North West and 15% in the North East and Yorkshire.
If 50% of these smokers started vaping, hospital admissions would reduce by 13%, translating to savings of £518 million, the study suggests.
This was calculated by looking at data relating to smoking as a cause of death, ward costs per day, as well as the risk of developing cancer, heart disease, stroke, chronic bronchitis and emphysema.
In the North East and Yorkshire alone, half of smokers switching to a vape could save £148 million.
Professor Francesco Moscone said: ‘Such illnesses put significant burdens on the NHS, which we know is already under increasing pressure.’
He added that while the long-term impact of vapes are still unknown, previous research has shown they ‘result in a 90% reduction in the exposure to chemicals that are major contributors to health risks’.
In 2019, the Government outlined its ambition to make England ‘smoke free’ by 2030.
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It also launched a ‘swap to stop’ campaign in April, offering one million smokers vapes to encourage them to quit cigarettes.
Action on Smoking and Health (Ash) estimates 9.1% (4.7 million) of adults in Britain currently vape.
Of those, 2.7 million are ex-smokers, 1.7 million are current smokers and 320,000 have never smoked.
However, a poll of 12,271 adults, carried out by YouGov for the charity, found 43% of people think vaping is as dangerous or more dangerous than smoking.
It comes amid concern about young people and children using e-cigarettes, with calls mounting for tighter regulations on their marketing and packaging.
The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) said while vaping is a ‘preferable alternative to smoking for adults’, they do have concerns ‘about the rise in youth vaping’.
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Hospital admissions would reduce by 13%, translating to savings of £518 million, a study has claimed.