NHS would save more than £500m a year if half of England’s adult smokers vaped instead

Despite the widespread knowledge about the harmful effects of tobacco smoking, tobacco use remains the single biggest cause of preventable illness and premature deaths in England.

Smoking accounts for approximately 74,600 deaths a year in England, and there were an estimated 506,100 smoking-related admissions to England’s hospitals between 2019 and 2020.

The cost of smoking to the National Health Service in England is estimated to be £2.5 billion a year, and the government is determined to cut this expenditure.

In 2019, the government announced an ambition for England to become ‘smoke-free’ by 2030, with smokers either quitting tobacco or switching to a reduced-risk product, known as an RRP. This could be an electric cigarette or vaping product.