The Swap 2 Stop scheme, part of a government-funded programme, encourages adults who smoke to switch from smoking to vaping, which is much less harmful to health. LiveWell Dorset, Public Health Dorset’s lifestyle behaviour change service, will deliver the programme by offering smokers a voucher for a free vape starter kit from a trusted supplier.

Vaping is much safer than continuing to smoke

“The health advice on vaping is clear. If you smoke, vaping is much safer, but it isn’t entirely risk-free, so if you don’t smoke, don’t vape.” says Sam Crowe, Director of Public Health at Dorset Council and BCP Council. “Thanks to national funding, we can offer people who smoke the chance to make a positive choice for their health by switching from smoking to vaping, alongside our existing range of stop-smoking services in the county.”

“Smoking remains the single biggest cause of preventable death in the UK, it kills up to two out of three long-term users and around 64,000 people each year. Whilst nicotine is the addictive substance in cigarettes, almost all of the harm from smoking comes from the toxic chemicals in tobacco smoke, the vast majority of which are not present in vapes.”

“People who do switch should eventually look to quit vaping too once they’re sure they won’t return to smoking, which we know poses a far greater risk to health. You can get advice on this from NHS Better Health, your pharmacist or LiveWell Dorset.”

The health risks of smoking 

Smoking led to more than 3,000 deaths in Dorset between 2017 and 2019. Public Health Dorset is working with local health partners to reach the government’s ambition to be smokefree by 2030. This means reducing the percentage of people who smoke to 5%, with the latest rates from 2022 at 9.1% in the Dorset Council area and 10.1% in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole. The new scheme sits alongside a range of other stop-smoking services for residents and targeted schemes in healthcare settings across the county.

Heidi Croucher, Dorset’s Treating Tobacco Dependency Programme Manager, adds, "The evidence shows vaping exposes people to a fraction of the harmful chemicals produced by tobacco smoke. These are the chemicals that cause serious illness including cancer, heart disease, lung disease, stroke and dementia.

“Nicotine has been used safely for decades in nicotine replacement therapy, such as patches and gums, and vaping is another way for smokers to get nicotine without the harm from tobacco smoke. It’s also been proven that vaping is a highly effective way to quit smoking, so we’d encourage any adult who smokes to give it a go, even if you’ve tried to quit before."

Support from LiveWell Dorset

Andrea Fellows, Behaviour Change Coach at LiveWell Dorset, said: "Receiving specialist support from a stop-smoking coach is key to successfully quitting smoking, effectively doubling your chances of lasting success compared to going it alone. When you combine coaching with the use of a stop-smoking aid, like a vape, the odds of successfully quitting smoking are doubled yet again. Our Swap 2 Stop support package includes a series of LiveWell coaching videos which offer ultimate flexibility as they can be accessed online anytime, anywhere.”