The number of vape users in Britain has dropped by 400,000 in 12 months, with campaigners saying that an unfounded belief that they are no less harmful than smoking is stopping people using them to quit cigarettes.
The figures came as an international evidence review found that e-cigarettes were 70 per cent more effective in helping smokers to quit than nicotine replacement therapy.
The charity Action on Smoking and Health (Ash), pointed to YouGov polling, which showed that in March there were 3.2 million e-cigarette users in Britain, down from 3.6 million the year before.
This year 17.4 per cent of smokers used an e-cigarette, whereas 17.6 per cent reported doing so in 2014. Ash said that “unfounded concerns about the relative safety of e-cigarettes”
