NICE Asks Healthcare Professionals To Offer Vaping Advice

A major health body in the UK has advocated for the use of e-cigarettes as a way to stop smoking in an update to its stop smoking guidance.

The National Institute For Health And Care Excellence has published draft advice that claimed that vape supplies such as e-cigarettes can be as effective as other nicotine replacement therapies in helping people to quit.

Previously, the primary recommendation from the NHS and other health bodies to encourage people to quit smoking has been Nicotine Replacement Therapy, which takes the form of patches, chewing gum, sprays and lozenges.

This, much like the proposed use of e-cigarettes, would be used in combination with behavioural support, advice and other ways to boost willpower to help people finally break the habit.

Currently, vaporisers and e-cigarettes are not available on prescription, as it is regulated by the same body that regulates cigarettes: the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations.

NICE has advised that patients should be allowed the opportunity to use these devices to help them stop smoking.

As well as this. healthcare providers should tell patients where they can find advice on how to use them, and also that they should stop smoking conventional cigarettes completely if they make the switch, according to the advice.

It recommended as well that more research is undertaken on the long-term health effects of e-cigarettes, as the newness of the technology has made long term analysis difficult.

In particular, they have requested that research be undertaken on whether vaporisers can be used during pregnancy, although it also noted that the MHRA’s monitoring of potential harmful side effects has found no major concerns.