HEALTH campaigners in East Lancashire have backed calls for e-cigarettes to be used to get people to quit smoking.

The annual Stoptober campaign, run by Public Health England (PHE) has embraced vaping for the first time, a sign the industry is being seen as the key to getting people to stop smoking.

The Stoptober campaign will feature vaping in its TV adverts for the first time.

And the move has been supported by public health bosses in the North West, after PHE found that 50 per cent of people who have taken part in Stoptober last year have used an e-cigarette to quit.

While smoking prevalence in adults in Blackburn with Darwen has fallen from 24.3 per cent in 2012 to 19.5 per cent in 2016 and in Lancashire from 20 per cent to 16 per cent in the same period.

Experts have estimated that using an e-cigarette is around 95 per cent less harmful to health than smoking.

Dr Rebecca Wagstaff, deputy director of health and wellbeing with PHE North West said: “More than one in six people in the North West still smoke and we know that many of them want to give up.

“E cigarettes are now the most popular way to quit smoking and last year more than half the people taking part in Stoptober used e-cigarettes to quit.

“If you have tried to give up before but not succeeded then e-cigarettes may be an option to consider as they carry a fraction of the risk of cigarettes.

“There are lots of quit smoking aids available and whatever aid you chose you know that you are making the right decision.

“Evidence shows that if you quit smoking for 28 days then you are five times more likely to quit for good, improving your health and putting more money into your pocket.

“It can be daunting but if you join the 28-day Stoptober challenge you will join the thousands of people who have successfully quit in the North West.”

PHE chiefs have now called on people to join the 28-day Stoptober challenge, which starts from October 1, in an effort to reduce smoking prevalence.

Dr Tom Smith, the Lancashire Telegraph’s health expert also backed the calls.

Dr Smith said: “I would support anything that reduces cigarette consumption and e-cigs have been shown to be effective in doing this.”

County Cllr Vivien Taylor, cabinet member for health and wellbeing, said: "Smoking kills and is one of the biggest preventable causes of ill health in Lancashire.

"We support Public Health England's Stoptober campaign.

"Evidence suggests that electronic cigarettes are significantly less harmful for smokers than tobacco and can offer people an alternative way to quit."