One of the reports given by MPs clearly stressed the need for removing strict rules concerning the use of e-cigarettes so it can gain wide acceptance in the society.
It also proposed that e-cigarettes should be made readily available on prescription to support smoking cessation effort because they are not as harmful as normal cigarettes.
The report also mentioned how tolerable e-cigarettes can be on buses and trains and asked that the government give it a consideration.
The belief that young people can easily start smoking when e-cigarettes are made readily available has been debunked by Public Health, England based on lack of good evidence.
The NHS often overlooked the fact that e-cigarettes can help people quit smoking and this was reported by the science and technology MP’s committee.
E-cigarettes was banned from the premises of 50NHS mental health trusts in England based on the detection of a health risk from second-hand e-cigarette vapor. The use of e-cigarettes was tagged as being “unacceptable.”
What were other matters raised by the MPs?
They called for the following
- Reduced strictness for e-cigarettes advertisements
- Consideration of health benefits of e-cigarettes and relaxation of tax duties and regulations
- Annual review of heat-not-burn products generally including e-cigarettes in relation to their health effect
- Deliberation about the freedom to vape in offices and in public spaces such as public transport
- Giving license to e-cigarettes as medical devices
- Review of Tank sizes and limits on refill strength
- Lifting the ban on snus which is an oral tobacco product which under the EU rules is not permitted in the UK.
How popular has vaping become?
E-cigarettes have found wide use in the UK among about 2.9 million people
Each year, over tens of thousands of people quit smoking while an estimated 470,000 people stop smoking after using the e-cigarettes as an aid.
One of the most cogent concerns about this report is that the long-term health effects of vaping are not fully established; although e-cigarettes are substantially not as harmful as conventional cigarettes due to their lack of carbon monoxide or tar in their makeup.
Despite the low health risk associated with e-cigarettes, many businesses, public places, and transport providers still view them as having the same effect as conventional cigarettes. The Chairman of the Science and Technology Committee, Norman Lamb recently said: “the current policy and regulations should clearly reflect the clear-cut difference between e-cigarettes and conventional cigarettes to fully sensitize smokers.”
He said, “there is no evidence or public health rationale for categorizing these two products as being equal in terms of health effect.”
There is not enough proof to show that e-cigarettes cause young adults to subscribe to conventional smoking.
As a matter of fact, if the e-cigarettes are used correctly, they can be effective as a smoking cessation option that can be chosen by the NHS.
Mr. Lamb stressed that medically licensed e-cigs would be a much easier stop-smoking alternative to be recommended by doctors to people looking to quit smoking.