Electronic cigarettes are to be classed as "medicines" under new proposals to tighten up the regulation of nicotine-containing products.
Manufacturers are to face tough new tests before they can sell their e-cigarettes as "licensed products", the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said.
The move will also mean that licensed e-cigarettes can be prescribed by medics to help smokers cut down or quit. It is estimated that 1.3 million people across the UK use battery-powered e-cigarettes, which can look like real cigarettes but users inhale a mist of nicotine instead of smoke.
When the user sucks on the e-cigarette, liquid nicotine is vapourised and absorbed through the mouth. When they breathe out, a plume of what appears to be smoke is emitted but it is actually largely water vapour.
In the past, experts have said that if all smokers were to use e-cigarettes instead of normal cigarettes, millions of lives could be saved, because they do not contain harmful tar like in real cigarettes. But others have raised concerns about safety and regulation of the products.
Source: Belfast Telegraph, 12/06/13
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