E-cigs: the ray of hope

A new report exploring General Practitioners’ prescribing practices for quitting services and treatment in the UK has revealed that 75 percent fewer ‘stop smoking’ aids were dispensed in 2016-17 than in 2005-6, according to a story on Practice Business.
The report, published by the British Lung Foundation, was said to have reflected on the impact this decline is likely to have on patients and healthcare provisions in the long-term.
In taking a closer look at ‘what GP practices can do to push forward in the fight against smoking and to support cessation’, Practice Business looked in part at the question of vaping, under the heading: To vape or not to vape; advice on e-cigarettes.
For people who smoked and who were using, or were interested in using, a nicotine-containing e-cigarette on general sale to quit smoking, Practice Business quoted NICE [National Institute for Health and Care Excellence] guidelines.
These guidelines apparently say that though these products are not licensed medicines, they are regulated by the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016; and that many people have found them helpful to quit smoking cigarettes.
‘People using e-cigarettes should stop smoking tobacco completely, because any smoking is harmful,’ the guidelines say.
‘The evidence suggests that e-cigarettes are substantially less harmful to health than smoking but are not risk-free; the evidence in this area is still developing, including evidence on the long-term health impact.’