Despite a torrent of evidence on the health risks of vaping, the free kits are set to be offered to almost one in five of all smokers in England.
The NHS has long advised that vaping can help smokers quit – but has never given people the equipment to start doing it.
Vaping devices typically cost around £20 to £30, plus more for replacement cartridges. Critics say vaping is not particularly effective in helping people give up.
But it is the focus of a new crackdown, which will see pregnant women offered up to £400 in vouchers to stop smoking, and a consultation launched on introducing mandatory advice about quitting smoking on cigarette packs.
The Government is striving to meet its target of being smoke-free by 2030 – which means reducing smoking rates to 5 per cent or less.
Health minister Neil O’Brien, who will launch the schemes today, is expected to say: ‘Up to two out of three lifelong smokers will die from smoking. Cigarettes are the only product on sale which will kill you if used correctly.
‘We will offer a million smokers new help to quit. We will be funding a new national ‘swap to stop’ scheme – the first of its kind in the world.’
But Professor Martin McKee from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said: ‘Given the pressure the NHS is facing, one does wonder if this is a good use of resources given that a substantial increase in tobacco taxes would be more effective.
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