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Ten Boots pharmacy branches in Manchester are piloting a service to help people stop vaping, alongside smoking cessation support.
The ‘Stopping starts here’ pilot — supported by Kenvue, the manufacturers of Nicorette — launched in June 2025, after the government’s ban on disposable vapes came into effect on 1 June 2025.
Pharmacists in participating Boots stores have received additional training to support people through a 12-week quit smoking or vaping plan, with one-to-one sessions, expert knowledge and Nicorette products, including mouth spray, gum, inhaler, nasal spray, lozenge, microtabs and patches being provided.
In response, one of the UK’s major respiratory charities, Asthma + Lung UK, has suggested that all stop smoking services should be transformed into a nicotine cessation service that also covers e-cigarettes.
The pilot follows research that found more than half (58%) of vapers in Manchester planned to quit, while 75% of vapers have previously attempted to quit smoking or vaping using willpower alone.
The findings were based on a survey of 2,064 people who smoke or vape, including 221 people from Manchester, conducted by Perspectus Global on behalf of Nicorette during May 2025.
Bas Vorsteveld, area managing director for Northern Europe at Kenvue, said: “With the ban on disposable vapes now in effect, many individuals will be reassessing their relationship with vaping.”
The collaboration with Boots community pharmacies would “help make it easier for smokers and vapers to access the help they may need”, he said.
Commenting on the pilot scheme, Laura Williamson, senior policy officer at Asthma + Lung UK, said: “It’s fantastic to see these new services being rolled out to support people with giving up both smoking and vaping.
“While vaping is less harmful than smoking and can be an effective way to give up smoking, it is not risk-free. More research is needed into the long-term effects of vaping, but it can cause inflammation in the airways, and people with lung conditions like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease have told us that vapes can trigger their lung condition.
“People who use vapes as a tool to quit smoking need support with their nicotine addiction, so they can end their use of vapes completely.”
“At Asthma + Lung UK, we’d like to see all stop smoking services transformed into nicotine cessation services, to support people to quit vaping when the time is right. These services should be paid for by a ‘polluter pays levy’ on the tobacco industry, which continues to make massive profits from the harm they have caused without penalty,” she added.
A spokesperson for Boots said they had yet to decide whether to introduce similar programmes elsewhere in the country.
In November 2024, The Pharmaceutical Journal reported that vapes were used in a community pharmacy pilot scheme to help people quit smoking.
