Asked by: Lord Howard of Rising (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the relative harms caused by (1) combustible tobacco products, and (2) non-combustible tobacco products.
Answered by Lord Kamall
Combustible tobacco products, such as cigarettes and rolling tobacco, are responsible for 448,030 hospital admissions and approximately 64,000 deaths a year. Users of non-combustible tobacco products, such as traditional chewing tobacco, can be exposed to similar or even higher levels of cancer-causing chemicals.
As all tobacco products are harmful to health, it remains the Government’s policy to support people to quit all forms of tobacco use. We encourage all tobacco users to quit through safer alternatives such as nicotine replacement therapy and e-cigarettes and local stop smoking services.
Asked by: Lord Howard of Rising (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the relative harms caused by (1) smoking, and (2) vaping.
Answered by Lord Kamall
Smoking remains the single largest cause of preventable deaths – and it is estimated that two out of three lifelong smokers will die from smoking. In 2019/20, smoking was responsible for 448,030 hospital admissions, and roughly 64,000 deaths a year between 2017 and 2019.
Although vaping is not risk free, the evidence is increasingly clear that UK regulated e-cigarettes are significantly less harmful to health than smoking tobacco. E-cigarettes are an effective tool in helping smokers to quit, especially when combined with support from local Stop Smoking Services.