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.

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.