NHS to consider providing e-cigarette prescriptions
The BBC has reported that the MHRA (the government body responsible for enforcing TPD laws) are inviting manufacturers to submit products for approval for NHS prescriptions.
The NHS and UK government have always been fairly “pro-vaping” as a method to quit smoking in comparison to other countries, despite the amount of restrictions there are in place for manufacturers and retailers. Even dating back to 2017, the UK government officially included vaping as part of it’s ‘Stoptober’ campaign.
Manufacturers will likely have to pass further regulations and restrictions for a product to be provided for medical use.
This could have a huge impact both on the industry as a whole, and public perception of vaping in general.
A lot of people's concerns with vaping are caused by misinformation spread online and word of mouth, so having an official body such as the NHS supporting vaping in this way as a method to stop smoking could be a really good thing globally. If this were to go through, we would be the first country in the world to provide vaping devices through a medical body on prescription.
Not only this, but we could see smoking-related deaths decrease dramatically. Currently, there are over 6.9 million smokers in Britain, that’s 14.1% of people over the age of 18. Smoking remains today as one of the leading causes of health issues for adults in the UK. In 2019, 64,000 people in the UK died from smoking related illnesses. Today, that number has jumped to 78,000.
Professor Linda Bauld, the Bruce and John Usher chair in public health at the University of Edinburgh, said “Up to one in three smokers in the UK have not tried these devices (vaping products)”. Introducing people to an alternative way to quit smoking, and providing the facts about it, could be incredibly helpful for so many people.
What are your thoughts? Let us know below.
Sources:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/hea…
https://news.sky.com/story/e-c...
