Vaping and tobacco industries welcome Public Health England review into e-cigarettes

The tobacco and vaping industries have greeted a new report by Public Health England which found that e-cigarettes only pose minimal health risks.

The review was welcomed by British American Tobacco and the UK’s vaping industry trade body among others.

The review comes as a rebuke to fresh health concerns over vaping which have emerged in recent months, with leading tobacco experts now concluding that e-cigarette use only poses a small fraction of the risks of smoking.

It also concluded that there was a high level of misperception around e-cigarettes, with thousands of smokers believing that vaping is just as harmful as smoking. Meanwhile less than 10 per cent of adults understand that most of the harm caused by smoking does not come from nicotine.

Read more: Brexit is Britain’s chance to cut red tape on vaping

“We welcome this latest report from Public Health England which reiterates their view that e-cigarettes are less harmful than smoking; that accurate information is needed about these new products; and that the evidence does not support that e-cigarettes are a gateway to smoking, and may in fact be an important tool to help people quitting,” said David O’Reilly, group scientific director at British American Tobacco.

“It’s positive to see that for the first time they’ve also referenced tobacco heating products (THPs) – and how the available information suggests that these may also be considerably less harmful than traditional cigarettes.”

A spokesperson for the UK Vaping Industry Association said the review was “yet another ringing endorsement for the positive public health opportunity that vaping represents.”

But they added that “the government must deliver on its commitment to review and reform vaping related regulation as we leave the EU to create a system that better reflects the public health reality.”

Read more: E-cigarettes are about to be scrutinised by MPs