Should the National Health Service (NHS), England’s publicly funded national healthcare system, work with vape shops to help smokers quit? According to the findings of a new study, the NHS should definitely consider it.
With their study’s findings, which were published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health on February 9, 2018, the researchers behind the study are now recommending that more research be conducted into the relationship between smokers quitting via vaporizers and the vape shops that supply not only their vaping supplies, but at times, the social support, help, and advice that they need to kick their cigarette habit.
The research, which was funded by Cancer Research UK and carried out by researchers from the University of East Anglia, examined how vape shops help cigarette smokers quit smoking and remain cigarette-free. In order to gain insight into the matter, the researchers interviewed 40 people who migrated over to electronic cigarettes in a bid to give up conventional cigarettes. In addition, they worked with six different vape shops in order to observe the interactions between vape shop employees and the customers that they serve.
According to Dr. Emma Ward with UAE’s Norwich Medical School, the study’s lead researcher, the study’s findings show that the vape shops observed “provided effective behavioral support to help quitters stay smoke free.”
“We found that vape shops provided effective behavioral support to help quitters stay smoke free. Shop assistants were really keen to understand customers’ smoking preferences and give tailored advice about the most appropriate products. And they were an ongoing point of contact for practical help.”
Interestingly, they also found the shops to be primarily masculine territory. Some of the women they interviewed even reported a lack of confidence when it came to shopping at vape stores and subsequently noted that they would ask a male partner or colleague to visit a vape shop on their behalf.
The researchers also noticed that some male customers at vape shops were there asking for advice on behalf of their female partners, who were not in attendance. Some were also observed buying products for their absent female partners.
Based on the study’s findings, Dr. Caitlin Notley with UAE’s Norwich Medical School, the study’s principal investigator, said that vape stores could prove to be “very valuable allies to the NHS in the fight against smoking.”
“Vape shops could be very valuable allies to the NHS in the fight against smoking.”
Notley noted that the study’s findings show that it’s “just as important to offer ongoing support and give advice” on which vape setups to use and how to use them as it is to get smokers to give vaping a try. She added that vape stores “are well placed to provide this type of support.”
“…our study shows that it is just as important to offer ongoing support and give advice on which vape set-up to choose, and how best to use e-cigarettes, particularly to help people stay quit in the long term. Vape shops are well placed to provide this type of support.”
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