Abstract Background Vaping prevalence has increased substantially in England in recent years. However, little is known about the demand for vaping cessation support, or about providers’ preparedness and perceived barriers to offering it. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional online survey with stop smoking service and healthcare providers in England (n=96). The survey collected information on service demand, knowledge and beliefs about e-cigarettes, training and confidence in providing vaping cessation support, types of interventions offered, and barriers to delivering support. Results Of the providers surveyed, 39.6% reported seeing clients seeking vaping cessation support at least weekly, but only 17.7% reported seeing someone daily. By comparison, 93.7% reported seeing clients seeking smoking cessation support at least weekly, and 76.0% daily. Fewer than half (44.8%) of providers offered vaping cessation support; 59.4% had received training to do so. The proportion reporting high confidence in providing vaping cessation support was greater among those who had received training (70.2% vs. 40.5%). Behavioural support was the most common vaping cessation intervention offered (41.7%), followed by nicotine replacement therapy (22.9%), with few providing prescription medications (varenicline/cytisine/bupropion; 0-2.1%). When vaping cessation support was available, providers commented it was often shorter and less intensive than smoking cessation support. Key barriers included lack of commissioning or funding, lack of training, and limited evidence-based interventions. Concerns were also raised that quitting vaping may increase risk of relapsing to smoking. Conclusions Four in ten providers of smoking cessation support in England report at least weekly demand for vaping cessation support, but current provision is patchy and constrained by structural and resource-related barriers. Implications Collectively, our findings suggest vaping cessation is an emerging area of service provision with demand from clients but limited tailored support. Given constrained public health budgets and the current lack of evidence on the cost-effectiveness of vaping cessation interventions, policymakers will need to determine whether and how meeting this demand should be prioritised within tobacco control strategies.
Jackson et al. (Fri,) studied this question.