Swap to Stop: New scheme launched to support smokers to stub out for good

Our Stop Smoking Service is offering adults who smoke the opportunity to take part in a national initiative that supports them to swap cigarettes for a free vape kit and behavioural support for up to 12 weeks.

Do you smoke and want to quit? Have you tried multiple times to stop but never managed? Do you normally go it alone?

If you’re finding yourself in a repeated stop-start smoking cycle, the free new Swap to Stop scheme may be a good option for you.

With tailored advice from a Stop Smoking Advisor and stop smoking aids such as a vape, your next attempt could see you successfully quit smoking for good.

A vape, sometimes known as an electronic cigarette, is a device that simulates tobacco smoking. The latest evidence shows in the short and medium term, vaping poses a small fraction of the risks to health compared to smoking cigarettes. It is a safer alternative for an adult smoker and can be an effective tool in supporting the journey away from dependency on tobacco. Find out more about vaping myths.

Health experts advise that non-smokers should not start vaping. This is because vapes contain nicotine, which is addictive. If you don’t smoke, it’s best to avoid vaping altogether.

However, if you smoke, it’s really important and beneficial to you to continue making efforts to stop. Smoking remains the single biggest cause of preventable ill health, disability, and death in the UK. Quitting smoking has immediate benefits to your health, including improved breathing and lung function, and reduces the risk of a heart attack by half, after only one year of quitting. Read the speech by Neil O'Brien on the government’s next steps on vaping and smoking.

It’s never too late to stop smoking cigarettes. Find out more about our Stop Smoking Service.

Find out more about the national Swap to Stop scheme.

Find out where you can recycle vapes locally.