Birmingham based E-liquids.com are giving away more than £100,000 vapes and liquids as part of Stoptober which is celebrating ten years helping people abstain from tobacco or alcohol.
Smokers can enrol in the month-long Switch2Vaping programme which is free and get a free beginner-friendly vape kit, e-liquids, and one-to-one verbal support via phone, text and email.
To enrol in the Switch2Vaping programme, participants must complete a form on the E-Liquids.com website, after which they will receive a call to discuss their requirements including vape kit and flavour preference.
Jane Buxton, General Manager of E-liquids.com, said: “We have always promoted vaping as a safer, healthier alternative than smoking. When we saw that the pandemic had caused an increase in smoking rates, we knew we had to try and do something different to drive people to more effective methods of quitting.”
“Alongside offering a month’s worth of vaping products, we also have a team of experts on hand who will be supporting participants on a one-to-one basis.
“This will ensure that those who want to give up smoking have all of the necessary tools available to do so.”
He added: “The goal for their programme is to educate people about vaping and ultimately help fight rising smoking rates.”
Vape flavours can be changed at any time during the month, at no extra cost and the company will cover all postage and packaging costs as a way to further encourage people to forgo smoking and switch to vaping instead.
While studies into vaping are still ongoing, research has found vaping is a safer and healthier alternative. In 2015 and again in 2018, PHE released two in-depth reviews which revealed that e-cigarettes are 95% safer than cigarettes.
Public health officials who have been promoting the Stoptober campaign for 10 years have seen steady success in smoking cessation rates over time. However, due to the pandemic, it has recently been reported that smoking rates have increased.