VIP vaping kit

Vaping brand VIP has given away 10,000 e-cigarettes - pre-empting NHS plans to introduce the devices on prescription in 2016.

The Great VIP Giveaway launched last Wednesday, 9 December, with an advert on ITV1 before crime drama Prey. The ad featured a special code, which could be entered at VIP’s website, with the first 10,000 people to do this receiving a starter kit worth £29.99.

VIP cited figures from Action on Smoking and Health, showing that the number of e-cig users in the UK tripled between 2012 and 2014, to 2.1 million. Cigarette smoking, meanwhile, has fallen from 25% to 18% of adults since 2007.

“It’s widely agreed that vaping plays a major role in helping people to quit smoking,” said VIP co-founder Miguel Corral. “The NHS doesn’t currently offer free vaping kits to those who need them, but no-one should have to wait for effective treatment. That’s why we’ve stepped in just in time for New Year’s resolutions - the most popular time to try to stop.

“The vaping industry has had to endure years of scare-mongering and unfair claims, so to finally have validation from Public Health England among other bodies, such as the Royal College of Physicians, was a major milestone not only for e-cigarette brands, but for smokers, too.”