Half of the region's smokers making the switch to vapes could save the NHS £148 million, a study has claimed.

Researchers at Brunel University London used data from NHS Digital, the Royal College of Physicians and the Office for National Statistics to identify the prevalence of smoking in each region of England.

The study, published in the British Journal of Healthcare Management suggested that if 50 per cent of all England's smokers switched to e-cigarettes, hospital admissions would reduce by 13 per cent, saving the NHS £518 million. 

They found that between 2019 and 2021, 15 per cent of people in Yorkshire and the North East aged 18 and over smoked, compared to 13.6 per cent in England overall.

A spokesperson for the York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: "Roughly one in four patients admitted to hospital smokes tobacco and smoking related diseases are often the cause for their admission. 

"Smoking also increases the chances of complications before, during and after operations, and slows recovery and healing times. 

"As such, all our hospital sites are Smokefree, and a Tobacco Dependency Treatment Service is available for all in-patients and those using maternity services to support people to be Smokefree while being cared for. 

"Tobacco dependency is treated with support for lasting behaviour change and NRT (Nicotine Replacement Therapies) patches, lozenges and inhalators which can help to ease the discomfort that people feel because of nicotine withdrawal. 

"Vaping is considered substantially less harmful than smoking and we support people who find they are unable to stop smoking using support and medication alone, to try vapes as a way of quitting smoking entirely.” 

The researchers calculated the figures by looking at data relating to smoking as a cause of death, and the risk of smokers developing cancer, heart disease, stroke, chronic bronchitis and emphysema.

Professor Francesco Moscone, a business economics expert from Brunel University London, said: "Such illnesses put significant burdens on the NHS, which we know is already under increasing pressure.

"While the long-term impact of vapes are still unknown, previous research has shown they result in a 90 per cent reduction in the exposure to chemicals that are major contributors to health risks."

A YouGov poll carried out for the charity Action on Smoking and Health (Ash), found 43 per cent of people think vaping is as dangerous or more dangerous than smoking cigarettes.

Ash estimated that 9.1 per cent (4.7 million) of adults in Britain vapes, and of those, 2.7 million are ex-smokers, 1.7 million are current smokers, and 320,000 have never smoked.

The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) said that while vaping is a "preferable alternative to smoking for adults," they do have concerns "about the rise in youth vaping".