The e-cig category has been given a major boost after Public Health England said e-cigarettes were 95% less harmful than tobacco and could be prescribed by the NHS as a smoking cessation aid.
In a report into the future of the e-cig market, the technology was called a ‘game changer’ while it was also claimed that there was no evidence that vaping was a gateway to start smoking.
“E-cigarettes are not completely risk-free but when compared to smoking, evidence shows they carry just a fraction of the harm,” said Professor Kevin Fenton, from Public Health England.
Prof Ann McNeill from King’s College London commented: “If everybody [in England] who was smoking switched to e-cigarettes that would reduce to about 4,000 deaths a year. That’s the best estimate at the moment. It may well be much, much lower than that.”
Public Health England said: “We encourage smokers who want to use e-cigarettes as an aid to quit smoking to seek the support of local stop-smoking services, given the potential benefits as quitting aids,” it adds. “PHE looks forward to the arrival on the market of a choice of medicinally regulated products that can be made available to smokers by the NHS on prescription.”
The availability of e-cigs on prescription leaves questions over their viability as a revenue stream for convenience stores, however it should be stressed that this report is not binding, and only offers recommendations.
Simon Clark, Director of pro-smoking group Forest said that promoting e-cigs “as a state-approved smoking cessation aid ignores the fact that many people enjoy vaping in its own right and use e-cigs as a recreational not a medicinal product.”
Action on Smoking and Health have backed the findings with Chief Executive Deborah Arnott, commenting: “This timely statement from Public Health England should reassure health professionals, the media, and the public, particularly smokers, that the evidence is clear: electronic cigarettes are very much less harmful than smoking.”
Paul Hunt, UK Managing Director of e-cigarette brand V2 Cigs, says: “This new report will hopefully dispel many of the myths surrounding vaping and help educate the public on the many benefits that it can bring.”
The BMA, however, said there had to be a stronger regulatory framework that addresses concerns over the inconsistent quality of products. However such a framework is already in the process of being established.
The Welsh Government, which is planning to ban vaping in public places said it was “concerned the use of e-cigarettes may renormalise smoking, especially for a generation who have grown up in a largely smoke-free society.”
The Government’s Chief Medical Officer, Dame Sally Davies agreed that there remained a lack of evidence on the long-term effects of the devices. “I want to see these products coming to the market as licensed medicines,” she said. “This would provide assurance on the safety, quality and efficacy to consumers who want to use these products as quitting aids, especially in relation to the flavourings used, which is where we know least about any inhalation risks.”
