Researchers have found that a trial where smokers received a free e-cigarette starter pack helped to double the number of those able to quit smoking, reports The Telegraph.

The study which was led by the Norwich Clinical Trials Unit at the University of East Anglia (UEA), saw around 1,000 smokers receive either the free starter packs or information about local stop smoking services at six NHS hospitals in England and Scotland.
According to The Telegraph, 23.9 per cent of the smokers that received the free vape quit after six months, compared to 12.9 per cent who did not. Those who did not quit smoking were more likely to reduces the number of cigarettes they smoked.
Dr Ian Pope, from UEA’s Norwich Medical School and an emergency doctor, said there was a “valuable opportunity for people to be supported to quit smoking” when they attend A&E.
“Swapping to e-cigarettes could save thousands of lives,” he said. “We believe that if this intervention was widely implemented it could result in more than 22,000 extra people quitting smoking each year.”
Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the UK and causes 76,000 deaths each year while thousands more live with smoking-related illnesses, reports The Telegraph.
“Smoking costs the NHS and the taxpayer billions every year in avoidable health and social care costs. Encouraging more people to stop smoking tobacco will support them to have healthier lives,” said an NHS spokesperson.