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E-Cigarettes Directive
Thank you for contacting me about the regulation of e-cigarettes.
The Government recognises that e-cigarettes help some smokers to quit and the evidence indicates that they are considerably less harmful to health than cigarettes. At the same time, it is essential that we do not encourage smoking and continue to protect children from the effects of nicotine.
The European Tobacco Products Directive is already part of UK law and the British Government will continue to meet all its legal obligations. Any review of this law will be a matter for the new Government, taking into account the outcome of exit negotiations.
Ministers understand that e-cigarettes are helpful to some people wishing to quit smoking, but the quality of products on the market remains highly variable. It is therefore important that proportionate regulation is introduced to ensure minimum safety requirements and that information is provided to consumers so that they can make informed choices.
In implementing this, the Government has worked towards regulation that permits a range of products, to remain on the market which are positioned as alternatives to smoking, not as products that introduce children to vaping or smoking. Since May 2016, e-cigarettes that are licenced by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency are still able to be advertised, and the advertising of all other e-cigarettes is no longer permitted on television.
I hope that this letter reassures you that the new rules do not aim to prevent people from using e-cigarettes, but rather to provide consumers with safer, less variable products.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.
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