Cancer Research UK has released new analysis which estimates one person dies every five minutes from tobacco in Britain and has called on the government to do more to help smokers quit.

Global charities and health campaigners are calling on smokers to quit their deadly cigarette habit on World No Tobacco Day.

It has launched a petition to coincide with World No Tobacco Day today, calling on the Prime Minister to establish a ‘Smokefree Fund’ to help pay for tobacco control, which it says is seriously underfunded.

Meanwhile, a group of leading tobacco harm reduction groups, including the World Vapers’ Alliance, have highlighted the role of vaping in reducing the death and disease caused by smoking with the launch of World Vape Day yesterday (May 30).

Now in its fourth year, the event saw the global vaping community champion global harm reduction efforts and the benefits of using e-cigarettes – which Public Health England says are 95 percent safer than tobacco – as an effective way to quit smoking.

And on World No Tobacco Day, they – along with members of the European Parliament and consumer advocates – are pushing for a more open approach to harm reduction in the EU, with the focus not on fighting vaping, but on how to become a smoke-free country – like Sweden, which is celebrating that status this year.

Director of the World Vapers said

“World No Tobacco Day is a sad reminder that a new approach in the fight against smoking is needed”.

“Instead of fighting less harmful alternatives like vaping, the EU and WHO must start accepting reality: harm reduction works! Sweden is becoming the first smoke-free country this year due to a consumer-friendly harm reduction approach. It is high time to learn from the Swedish experience and thereby save millions of lives. With a smart harm reduction approach, we can reach a smoke-free Europe way sooner than the target.”

And with only 34% of adults who smoke accurately believing vaping was less harmful than smoking in 2021, according to a government review, there are plenty of facts and figures to address any concerns or queries participants may have.

There is also a new 2023 guide on vaping responsibly – from how you can take a responsible approach to vaping in public to disposing of your device in an environmentally-friendly way.