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  • Vaping resources

    Nicotine vapes and the behaviour change techniques associated with them are covered in our online training and assessment programme, specifically the Vaping: a guide for healthcare professionals module.

    This section includes a number of briefings, including our latest guidance for health and social care professionals, and guidance on supporting clients who want to stop vaping.

    Vaping: a guide for health and social care professionals

    New and fully updated edition!

    Healthcare professionals have an important role to play in ensuring that people who smoke have accurate information about vaping founded upon evidence.

    But we also need to remember to ask questions of, and listen to, people who vape and this briefing carries this message alongside reviewing the evidence on effectiveness and safety of vaping, and addressing some of the issues that have been raised about the use of vapes.

    Vaping has a role in helping people who smoke to quit, reduce the harm from smoking, and manage temporary abstinence.

    "I must say I am very impressed by the guide. It's so full of common sense and empathy.”
    Ex-smoker who quit by switching to vaping

    Supporting clients who want to stop vaping

    Providing guidance to clients who ask about stopping vaping

    When supporting clients who want to stop vaping, our priority should always be to ensure that clients who stop vaping do not return to smoking cigarettes. NICE recommends that people should use vapes for as long as they help prevent them going back to smoking.

    It is important to assess why clients want to stop vaping and their risk of relapse, and to plan and prepare appropriately to stop vaping either gradually or in one step.

    When working with clients who want to stop vaping, it can be useful to organise support using the Ask, Advise, Act model.

    Update: 1st November 2022
    With thanks to Matthew Seal, Stop Smoking Team Lead at Lewisham Stop Smoking Service, we have now added guidance on options to reduce for clients using disposable vapes on page 10 of the briefing.

    Update: 18th February 2023
    On page 11 we have included information on the Nicorette products that are now licensed for assisting people to stop vaping.

    Date of last review: November 2024

    Swap to Stop

    These resources are designed to complement our online training module: NCSCT Swap-to-Stop training module.

    The Swap-to-Stop briefing below summarises the Swap-to-Stop scheme with case studies from organisations who have implemented it.

    Swap-to-Stop: a memory jogger (see below) lays out the main components of Very Brief Advice on Smoking (VBA+) as it relates to the scheme, with typical questions from clients and suggested answers.

    Below are links to additional resources to support the delivery of the Swap-to-Stop scheme:

    Cessation of Smoking Trial in the Emergency Department (COSTED) trial

    The Cessation of Smoking Trial in the Emergency Department (COSTED) trial was a major randomised controlled trial, funded by the National Institute for Health Research, to definitively test the COSTED intervention. It demonstrated that the intervention was effective at supporting people to switch away from smoking tobacco.

    The COSTED intervention includes:

    • Brief smoking cessation advice delivered by an advisor
    • Provision of an vape starter kit
    • Signposting to further support and a referral to the Stop Smoking Service (if requested by the patient)

    The COSTED toolkit includes implementation FAQs, useful links and an online training module on the COSTED intervention.

    The COSTED advisor eLearning portal is a training package aimed at advisors delivering the COSTED intervention. Although it is aimed at advisors, we believe that it is useful for anyone involved in implementing COSTED. It covers how and why COSTED works, who can receive COSTED, delivering COSTED's core components, and delivering COSTED in the ED environment.

    Information for specialist stop-smoking services that are considering providing e-cigarette starter packs: recommendations from the Trial of Ecigarettes (TEC)

    Until recently, research into the effectiveness of e-cigarettes within local stop smoking services was lacking.

    This briefing provides a summary of the findings from the Trial of E-Cigarettes (TEC) research project that was carried out in stop smoking services in London, Leicester and East Sussex. The briefing also includes recommendations for stop smoking services on providing starter packs, and questions and answers on some of the key issues.

    Working with vape shops

    Vape shops can be a source of information about new products, regulation, costs and technical support.

    This guide covers:

    • How can vape shops support stop smoking services?
    • How can stop smoking services work with vape shops?
    • What does 'reputable vape shop' mean?
    • Can vape shops be trusted?
    • Are vape shops owned by or associated with the tobacco industry?