Hundreds of Sunderland smokers given free vapes to help them quit

679 smokers in Sunderland have been handed a free vape to help them quit, NHS figures show.

Sunderland gave a vape kit to about one in 30 of its smokers through the national Swap to Stop scheme, compared to around one in 60 across England.

The Swap to Stop scheme is designed to help people stop smoking.

placeholder image — The Swap to Stop scheme is designed to help people stop smoking.

Elsewhere in Tyne and Wear, Gateshead handed out 857 kits, to about one in 16 smokers, Newcastle upon Tyne 916, around one in 30, South Tyneside 339, around one in 55, and North Tyneside 129, one in 120.

Wigan had the highest rate of vape provision with one in five smokers given free kits.

The government announced the Swap to Stop scheme in April 2023, saying almost one in five smokers in England would be given a vape starter kit.

Shane Margereson, founder of Ecigone, a five-time award-winning UK online vape shop said: “Vaping is one of the most widely used ways to move off cigarettes in the UK and is supported by the NHS as a stop-smoking tool.”