Free council vapes scheme helps smokers quit

SmokeFree Hull hands out free vapes to help people quit smoking

Almost a quarter of people who sought help from a city stop-smoking service used a vape to quit, organisers said.

SmokeFree Hull said the figures, from between April 2023 and March 2024, "demonstrate the difference seeking help can make when stopping smoking".

The Hull City Council-run organisation offers free vapes to over-18s who want to give up the habit, as well as one-to-one help and advice.

The city has one of the UK's highest smoking rates with 20.9% of people smoking, compared with the national average of 12.9%, according to government data.

Last year the city was given an extra £500,000 by the government on top of its existing £481,177 budget to help reduce the number of smokers.

One former smoker who used the SmokeFree service said using a vape had "helped me get off tobacco".

"I’m breathing a lot easier now, and I don’t cough up as much phlegm," they said.

"It’s so satisfying seeing the difference, and it’s improved and helped me cope with my COPD better."

Recent figures from charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) suggested smoking cost Hull £352m a year.

The figure is made up of healthcare costs, as well as social care, the impact of poor health on ability to work, and calculations based on money spent on smoking, rather than within the local economy, the council said.

Hull has one of the highest rates of smoking in the UK

Councillor Linda Chambers, Portfolio Holder for Public Health and Adult Social Care, said it was "encouraging to see so many people are managing to stop smoking successfully using vapes".

“While these figures are great news, our smoking rate in Hull remains stubbornly high," she said.

"It’s important not to become complacent about just how dangerous smoking is."

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