E-cigarettes could soon be prescribed on the NHS in England, with the rest of the UK surely bound to follow.
Plans are to help people stop smoking tobacco products, by helping them switch to vaping. The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency is inviting manufacturers to submit goods for approval to be prescribed. While this is great news for smokers, it does pose the question who might these contacts be awarded to. Critics say it’s likely to be large tobacco firms, who until now have found it difficult to get a real foothold within the UK.
If the proposals are implemented, England would become the first country in the world to prescribe e-cigarettes as a medical product. Other countries have had similar ideas, but settled to simply restrict the purchase of nicotine to those with prescription. There has been much debate over the years about whether e-cigarettes should be offered alongside patches and gum.
E-cigarettes are not completely risk-free, but are 95% safer that traditional cigarettes. They don’t produce tar or carbon monoxide, two of the most harmful elements in tobacco smoke. A medically licensed e-cigarette would have to pass even more rigorous safety checks than those required for retail sale.
It is estimated that about 3.6 million people use e-cigarettes, most of them being ex-smokers. Health Secretary Sajid Javid said “Opening the door to a licensed e-cigarette prescribed on the NHS has the potential to tackle the stark disparities in smoking rates across the country,”
But Professor Peter Hajek, director of the tobacco dependence research unit at Queen Mary University of London, said “Smokers are more likely to benefit from e-cigarettes if they can select flavours, strengths and products that they like, rather than being limited to whatever becomes licensed. It also does not seem necessary for the NHS to pay for something that smokers are happy to buy themselves. Overall, it would seem easier to just recommend existing products which are well regulated by consumer protection regulations.”
