Free E-cigarettes For Food Banks

Hertfordshire Will Receive Free E-cigarettes

Smokers that receive support from a food bank will be offered an e-cigarette starter kit in order to help them quit smoking and switch to e-cigarettes. They hope that this will save people money and improve overall health.

It will first be rolled out in Hertfordshire where plenty of local food banks have agreed to supply people with e-cigarette starter kits.  It has been estimated that switching to e-cigarettes can save a smoker that smokes 20 a day almost £70 a week and also reduce the risk of cancer.

The success of this food bank in Hertfordshire will decide if the rest of the country receives the same treatment. This is a beautiful moment for people that are struggling with a cigarette addiction but can barely afford one.

How to get a free starter kit

You have to be 18 years old and be a daily smoker in order to receive your free package. This just shows that e-cigarettes are the best way to quit smoking regardless about what the media says. The truth is that e-cigarettes are seen negative in the news and it’s always for one key reason. We don’t know the long term effects of vaping.

We don’t know what is inside the e-cigarette starter kit, but we can imagine a vape pen with maybe two bottles of flavoured e-liquid and a charger. While it’s not the best set-up for most people, the people going to the food bank will be more than happy with that.

This means that people can now start to donate various e-cigarette components such as new e-liquid flavours. While we know that the main purpose of a food bank is to allow people with little money to eat and drink, we would be saving so many lives by supplying these people with e-cigarettes.

“Public health England (PHE) has said that e-cigarettes are about 95% less harmful than conventional cigarettes. However John Newton, The professor working with PHE says “Our position on the figure is that it is the best available published estimate. It is a useful figure, but it is not a precise scientific estimate.”

A report states that 12.7% of the adult population in Hertfordshire are smokers. It’s expected that this number will drastically drop when the food banks introduce the new e-cigarette starter kits.

Smoking is dangerous

The council report states: ‘Smoking is the main cause of preventable illness and premature death in England and in Hertfordshire, and has a greater impact on lower socio-economic groups, causing a widening gap in health inequalities between the better and the least well off, with some groups dying 16-20 years earlier than the general population.’

This plan can’t be brought forward until Hertfordshire receives permission to give-away these e-cigarettes. They will also have to comply with the EU law and failure to do so could result in the whole food bank being shut down.

We have faith that the EU will give the approval for these e-cigarettes and that all the people that go to the food banks can get the support they need to quit smoking for good.

What are your thoughts on this new plan? Let us know below!