Up to one million smokers will be encouraged to switch from cigarettes to vaporizers, while pregnant women will be offered financial incentives to make the switch, in a world first, the British government announced yesterday.

Under the scheme, almost one in five smokers will be given a starter kit – an electronic cigarette – as well as support to quit, the health ministry said.

Pregnant women will also be offered vouchers to help kick the habit as part of the government’s target to reduce the number of smokers to 5% of the population or less, from 13% today.

“Up to two out of three people who smoke in their lifetime will die from smoking. Cigarettes are the only product available for sale that will kill you if used correctly,” Health Secretary Neil O’Brien said in a speech yesterday, according to the government.

“We will offer one million smokers new help to quit smoking. We will fund a new national ‘switch to quit’ program – the first of its kind in the world.”

Although the global average of smokers is higher than Britain’s, tobacco is still the country’s biggest preventable cause of death and disease, according to the UK Department of Health.

Aiming to reduce pressure on the NHS, the government spent £68m in 2021-22 on measures to help people stop smoking, helping 100,000 smokers quit.

Vaping has its critics, however, and health officials warn that it exposes children, among whom it is popular, to chemicals whose long-term effects are unclear.

According to the health service, 9% of 11- to 15-year-olds in Britain had used e-cigarettes in 2021, up from 6% three years ago. The government has announced it will set up a £3m law enforcement team to prevent the illegal sale of vapers to under-18s.