Forest has welcomed a call by MPs to relax e-cigarette advertising regulations and review the current limits on the strength of refills and the restriction on tank size, but has warned against medical licensing of e-cigarettes.

 

Responding to a report on e-cigarettes by the Science and Technology Committee, Simon Clark, director of Forest, said:

 

"We welcome the Committee's open-minded approach to e-cigarettes.

 

"We agree that, post-Brexit, manufacturers should be allowed to inform smokers of the potential health benefits of switching to e-cigarettes. 

 

"We agree too that the limit on the strength of refills and the restriction on tank size should be reviewed."

 

On the issue of medical licensing, however, Clark warned:

 

"Licensing e-cigarettes as a medical product could damage the appeal of vaping for millions of smokers.

 

"The success of e-cigarettes to date has been based on the fact that they allow smokers who want to quit to switch to a product that, for many people, is as pleasurable as the cigarettes they are giving up.

 

"Aligning e-cigarettes with products such as nicotine patches and gum could be counter-productive."