UK
Public Health England says e-cigarettes should be available on prescription.
PHE wants e-cigarettes to be prescribed on the NHS within the next few years because of how successful they have been in helping people give up smoking. In an independent review of the latest evidence, published by PHE, it suggests at least 20,000 people a year are quitting with the help of e-cigarettes. The report also says e-cigarettes are at least 95% less harmful than smoking. Also, PHE wants hospitals to be able to sell e-cigarettes and have areas where patients can vape. The agency also encouraged employers to provide vaping areas.
Currently, no e-cigarettes are licensed in the UK as a smoking cessation aid, and PHE is calling for an easier route for manufacturers to get a medicinal license.
PHE health improvement director, John Newton, said, “Anything that the [Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency] MHRA can do to make it easier for manufacturers we think would be helpful.”
Newton also said that there was “overwhelming evidence” that e-cigarettes were far safer than smoking and “of negligible risk to bystanders”.
“Almost half of smokers have never tried an e-cigarette possibly because they have views about how risky they are which are not founded on the evidence. We really want to get the message out that they really should consider using an e-cigarette because they’re a lot better for them than continuing to smoke,” he said.