You have no items in your shopping cart.
You Must be 18 and Over to Purchase any Products on this Site. If you are Not Legally Allowed to Purchase Tobacco Products, Please Do Not Enter.
or ExitNicotine vaping is substantially less harmful than smoking. It's also one of the most effective tools for quitting smoking.
Vaping is not recommended for non-smokers and young people because it is not completely harmless.
Here you will find the facts on vaping, based on scientific evidence and research, plus advice on how to use vapes (sometimes called e-cigarettes or e-cigs) as a tool to quit smoking.
Vapes are electronic devices that let you inhale nicotine in a vapour instead of smoke. This is done by heating a solution (e-liquid) that typically contains propylene glycol, vegetable glycerine, flavourings and nicotine.
E-liquids come in different nicotine strengths, so you control how much nicotine you need to help with cravings and other withdrawal symptoms, such as feeling irritable and having low mood.
Nicotine itself is not very harmful and has been used safely for many years in medicines to help people stop smoking.
The routines and rituals of smoking can be hard to stop, so vaping can help you gradually let go of these while immediately reducing the health risks of smoking cigarettes.
Some people find vaping helps them because the hand-to-mouth action is like smoking, plus you get similar sensations, like throat hit (the "kick" in the back of your throat when you inhale).
Any smoking is harmful and you will only get the full benefits of vaping if you stop smoking completely. Some people manage to make a full switch very quickly, while for others it can take a bit longer.
There are a variety of vapes including:
A vape bar, pod device or vape pen are good choices, as they are discreet, make small clouds and can give high amounts of nicotine. Starter kits come with a range of flavours.
It's important to choose an e-liquid with the right strength of nicotine to satisfy your individual needs. You need to start at a nicotine level that matches your cigarette use – how frequently and how much you smoke. A specialist vape shop or your local Stop Smoking Service can advise you.
Whichever vape you choose, make sure you use it regularly.
You can buy them from specialist vape shops, some pharmacies and other retailers, or on the internet.
Make sure you buy your vaping products from a reputable retailer so you can be confident they are covered by UK safety and quality regulations.
So far, no vaping products have been licensed as stop smoking medicines in the UK, so they are not available on prescription from the NHS or from a GP.
Vaping is particularly effective for quitting if you get expert help from your local Stop Smoking Service.
They can give advice about the right device and nicotine strength for you, how to use a vape, plus extra support to help you succeed. Some services also offer free vaping starter kits.
Common side effects of vaping include:
If you experience side effects from vaping, get advice from a stop smoking adviser or specialist vape retailer before you decide to stop using a vape as your quit smoking tool.
Making small changes to your vape products or how you vape should help. Side effects are usually easily managed and should not stop you from vaping as a way to quit smoking.
Once you have been vaping for a while and feel sure you will not go back to smoking, you can aim to quit vaping too. Many vapers find they get to this stage after about 12 months.
There are a couple of ways to try to quit vaping:
Do not rush this step. Only reduce your vaping frequency or nicotine strength when you feel you will not go back to smoking and do not have to puff more to compensate.
Experts agree vaping is substantially less harmful than smoking but it is not risk-free. Vaping exposes users to fewer toxins and at lower levels than smoking cigarettes.
Switching to vaping significantly reduces your exposure to toxins that can cause cancer, lung disease, and diseases of the heart and circulation like heart attack and stroke.
Vaping has not been around for long enough to know the risks of long-term use. This includes the long-term effects of inhaling the flavourings in vapour. While vaping is substantially less harmful than smoking, it is unlikely to be totally harmless.
If you do not smoke, do not start vaping.
Cigarettes release thousands of different chemicals when they burn. Many are poisonous and up to 70 cause cancer.
Toxins in tobacco smoke can also cause other serious illnesses, including lung disease, heart disease and stroke.
Vaping exposes users to far fewer toxins than cigarette smoking, and vapes do not produce tar or carbon monoxide, 2 of the most harmful substances in tobacco smoke.
While secondhand smoke from cigarettes causes serious harm to others, there is no evidence so far that vaping is harmful to people around you.
But as a precaution, it is best not to vape around babies and children if you can avoid it. Young children often copy what adults do.
Always be considerate when vaping around anyone else, especially people with health conditions like asthma or other respiratory conditions, or people who do not like vaping.
There is little research on the safety of vaping in pregnancy, but it's likely to be substantially less harmful for you and your baby than smoking.
If you're pregnant and need support to quit smoking, licensed nicotine replacement therapy products like patches and gum are the recommended option.
But if you find vaping helpful to quit and to stay smoke-free, it is much safer for you and your baby than continuing to smoke.
The most important thing is to not smoke when pregnant or around pregnant women.
Speak to a midwife or a stop smoking adviser for advice and support.
Reports of vapes exploding or catching fire are very rare, but always take care to reduce any risks by:
While vaping can help smokers quit, it is not harmless and is not for young people under 18. It is especially important to protect young lungs and brains.
That's why there's a minimum age of sale for vaping products in the UK. It is illegal to sell nicotine vaping products to anyone under 18 or for adults to buy them on behalf of under-18s.
It's important for young people to know the facts about vaping so they can make an informed choice.
Parents, carers and anyone working with children can make sure young people understand the health facts about vaping and know about vaping and the law.
Facts to tell young people about vaping:
NHS Article Source: Vaping to Quit Smoking