Dave didn’t feel well.
The room was spinning, his head felt like it was in a vice, it seemed like a camel was sitting on his chest.
For a moment he wondered if he’d woken up in the Sahara Desert, but rolling over to assess his surroundings the awful fog began to clear. It was 1pm. On New Year's day.
Simultaneously badly dehydrated and desperate for the toilet, Dave wondered why evolution hadn’t yet seen fit to correct this clear design flaw, but resigned himself to the fact a trip to the toilet to was inevitable.
Coughing and spluttering as he rolled out of his imagined sand dune, the effects of too much alcohol were only compounded by what felt like a burnt tongue and an awful stale stench on his hands
Arriving at the sink his lungs rattled and he produced and angry glob of molten mucous from deep in his chest. That tasted like a fireplace too.
“That’s it," he grumbled … "I’m giving up the fags”.
With the excesses of the holiday season still fresh in mind, and a ‘new year - new me’ mentality inspiring many people's New Year’s resolutions, January is always a popular time for those hoping to give up smoking.
Capitalising on this, Public Health England have launched a fresh campaign titled ‘Because there’s only one you’ hoping to encourage people to kick the habit. Similar to 2017’s Stoptober campaign, they have again teamed up with the Independent British Vape Trade Association (IBVTA) to make e-cigarettes a key focus of the campaign. (The campaign can also be found on the NHS website here.)
There are still many restrictions on the industry that prevents the promotion of e-cigarettes as a viable means of quitting. However, after reviewing the research and evidence available, PHE firmly believe that e-cigarettes are “at least 95% safer” than tobacco cigarettes. This high profile campaign validates their use, and reinforces the message that switching entirely to vaping is a way of stopping smoking.
It's more than just a PR campaign, though. It's beginning to be recognised that vape shops are a highly effective way of helping smokers, with skilled staff (many of whom are ex-smokers) offering invaluable support and advice to smokers.
By teaming up with the independent vape industry (tobacco affiliated companies are excluded from the campaign), PHE has found an economical way to reach - and help - many thousands more smokers. They're also the first government Public Health organisation in the world to take this step... although we can be sure others will be watching.
With a host of online activity, television advertising, plus leaflets and posters distributed nationwide, PHE’s campaign material states that:
Many thousands of smokers are quitting with e-cigarettes. They’re the most popular stop smoking aid in England and there’s growing evidence that they can help people stop smoking for good.
Vaping can seem a bit of a minefield when first starting, so choosing the right hardware and e-liquid combination is key to making a successful switch. There are a range of great starter kits and guides available to help demystify things, and popping into your local vape-store where you’ll be able to try out different combinations is always a great start. However newcomers should beware being sold complicated, high-powered, devices by overly keen sales people, starting simple is always best!
For those unfamiliar with e-cigs and unsure about their relative benefits, the PHE campaign contains a good overview on the differences between vaping and smoking, going on to say that: “E-Cigarettes do not burn tobacco and do not produce tar or carbon monoxide and as a result are significantly less harmful than cigarettes”.
This is something that the vaping community at large have long been aware of but that, sadly, many people have been made to doubt by sensationalist scare stories in the media. Sadly, these stories are often fed into the media by groups with their own agenda.
Despite most of these stories having been debunked long ago it is still common place to see them being shared on social media. This is a clear sign that the public are still woefully misinformed about e-cigarettes, we can only hope that wide scale support from a trusted source like PHE can begin to redress the balance.
If you’re thinking of giving up smoking this January be sure to search ‘Smokefree’ for a range of advice and support, and check out the full ‘Because there’s only one you’ campaign materials for further information.
You can check out our January offers here, with up to 23% off complete Vaping Sets ideal for starters, plus a voucher for a further 20% off your next e-liquid purchase in February. Even more incentive to stick with it!
Sources
One You: Public Health England
