In April 2023 , the UK government announced the world's first "Swap to Stop" scheme (a scheme in which the UK government will offer smokers e-cigarettes instead of harmful paper cigarettes).
The background to the Swap to Stop scheme (a plan by the UK government to offer smokers e-cigarettes instead of harmful paper cigarettes) includes the fact that two -thirds of smokers die from the harmful effects of paper cigarettes, the UK government has set a target of reducing the smoking rate to less than 5% by 2030 , and the smoking rate among pregnant women in England is high at 9 %.
To explain the details of the Swap to Stop scheme (a British government plan to provide smokers with e-cigarettes instead of harmful paper cigarettes), the British government will provide e-cigarettes to approximately one million smokers in England for free in order to reduce the smoking rate of paper cigarettes. The e-cigarettes provided can be chosen based on the tar and nicotine content (strength) and flavor (taste). In addition, pregnant smokers who switch from paper cigarettes to e-cigarettes will receive support of up to 400 pounds (approximately 70,000 yen). The budget for the scheme is said to be approximately 45 million pounds (approximately 8 billion yen) over two years .
It is expected that one in five UK smokers will switch from cigarettes to e-cigarettes once the Swap to Stop scheme is implemented. The UK government will also launch a consultation on including messages on cigarette packaging encouraging people to quit smoking.
Regarding the Swap to Stop scheme (a scheme in which the UK government offers smokers e-cigarettes instead of harmful paper cigarettes), Arnott, head of the Smoking and Health Campaign, said, "Although the scheme is still not fully funded, e-cigarettes are a monumental step forward for cigarette smokers to quit smoking." Dr. Javed, who is researching smoking cessation, said , "Although e-cigarettes are not sufficient in terms of risk as a replacement for paper cigarettes, they should be actively promoted as a way for smokers to quit smoking."
By the way, in a survey of e-cigarette users, one in three responded that if e-cigarettes were banned, they would go back to smoking cigarettes.
