Smokers choose e cigarettes rather than quit

The popularity of e-cigarettes has led to fall in demand for NHS anti-smoking aids
The popularity of e-cigarettes has led to fall in demand for NHS anti-smoking aids
CORBIS

The number of anti-smoking products handed out on the NHS to help people to kick the habit in Scotland dropped by a third last year, official figures show.

There were 169,967 (31 per cent) fewer quitting aids dispensed in 2014/15 compared with the previous year. The increasing popularity of e-cigarettes is thought to be partly responsible.

The fall for the second year running represents big savings for the NHS. The total cost of the products was £8,057,216 last year, a decline of £4,169,659 — 34 per cent — from the previous year. Experts believe the rapid rise in the use of e-cigarettes as an alternative means of quitting is “a plausible explanation”.

The Scottish Household Survey 2014 found that 1 in 20 adults now use