Dr Vera Buss is a research fellow at the UCL Tobacco and Alcohol Research Group. She is also a member of Behavioural Research UK, a research consortium funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) via the Economic and Social Research Council. Vera’s current research focusses on tobacco smoking and alcohol consumption. She uses data from the Smoking and Alcohol Toolkit Studies to track smoking and drinking trends across Great Britain and evaluate national tobacco and alcohol control policies.

Abstract

Impact of policy changes: Evaluating the ‘Swap to Stop’ campaign

The UK Government launched the ‘Swap to Stop’ initiative in December 2023 to encourage smoking cessation by providing free e-cigarette kits alongside behavioural support. The study aimed to evaluate the impact of ‘Swap to Stop’ on the proportion of people in England trying to quit smoking using e-cigarettes. Data (N=13,619) were from the Smoking Toolkit Study, collected between December 2021 and December 2024. The primary analysis used ARIMA regression models, including those who smoked in the past year in England. The secondary analysis used generalised additive models for a differences-in-differences approach, with people from Scotland and Wales as the control group. Both models assessed e-cigarette use during past-year quit attempts, modelling the intervention effect as a step change in December 2023 to indicate the start of ‘Swap to Stop’. The primary analysis indicated a small increase in the proportion of people in England using e-cigarettes in past-year quit attempts since the start of ‘Swap to Stop’. The secondary analysis was unable to detect an effect. The study shows how rapid policy evaluations can help to inform decisions about ongoing funding.