England could be the first country in the world to prescribe medicinally licensed e-cigarettes to help reduce smoking rates.
E-cigarettes could be prescribed on the NHS in England to help people stop smoking tobacco products, as health and social care secretary Sajid Javid welcomed the latest step forward in the licensing process for manufacturers.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is publishing updated guidance that could pave the way for medicinally licensed e-cigarette products to be prescribed for tobacco smokers who wish to quit smoking.
Manufacturers can approach the MHRA to submit their products to go through the same regulatory approvals process as other medicines available on the health service.
This could mean England would become the first country in the world to prescribe e-cigarettes licensed as a medical product.
If a product receives MHRA approval, clinicians could then decide on a case-by-case basis whether it would be appropriate to prescribe an e-cigarette to NHS patients to help them quit smoking. However, it remains the case that non-smokers and children are strongly advised against using e-cigarettes.
E-cigarettes contain nicotine and are not risk-free, but reviews from the UK and US have found that regulated e-cigarettes are less harmful than smoking. A medicinally licensed e-cigarette would have to pass even more rigorous safety checks.
Health bosses say smoking remains the leading preventable cause of premature death and while rates are at record low levels in the UK, there are still around 6.1m smokers in England.
There are also stark differences in rates across the country, with smoking rates in Blackpool (23.4 per cent) and Kingston upon Hull (22.2 per cent) poles apart from rates in wealthier areas such as Richmond upon Thames (8%).
The Department of Health and Social Care said E-cigarettes were the most popular aid used by smokers trying to quit in England in 2020.
E-cigarettes have been shown to be highly effective in supporting those trying to quit, with 27.2 per cent of smokers using them compared with 18.2 per cent using nicotine replacement therapy products such as patches and gum.
Some of the highest success rates of those trying to quit smoking are among people using an e-cigarette to kick their addiction alongside local Stop Smoking services, with up to 68 per cent successfully quitting in 2020 to 2021.
Health and social care secretary Sajid Javid said: “This country continues to be a global leader on healthcare, whether it’s our COVID-19 vaccine roll-out saving lives or our innovative public health measures reducing people’s risk of serious illness.
“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, helping people stop smoking wherever they live and whatever their background.”
The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) said 64,000 people died from smoking in England in 2019.
Reducing health disparities, including smoking rates, and keeping people in better health for longer is good for the individual, families, society, the economy and NHS.
To achieve this overall ambition, OHID will work collaboratively at national, regional and local levels as well as with the NHS, academia, the third sector, scientists, researchers and industry.
The government will soon publish a new Tobacco Control Plan which will set out the roadmap for achieving a smoke-free England by 2030.
