NEWS
“EMPLOYERS SHOULD
NOTE THAT E-CIGARETTES
ARE NOT COVERED
BY SMOKEFREE
LEGISLATION,” - PUBLIC
HEALTH ENGLAND
Workers should be allowed to vape at their office desks as part of
a government policy to create a smokefree generation in England.
New government targets have been unveiled to reduce adult smoking
rates by one quarter and to virtually eliminate smoking among
younger generations.
LET WORKERS
VAPE AT THEIR
DESKS
The use of electronic cigarettes could play an important role in this
move according to the government’s new Tobacco Control Plan
which was announced last month. The Plan aims to “maximise
the availability of safer alternatives to smoking” and to support
smokers who want to give up traditional cigarettes.
Although adult smoking levels are now at their lowest since records
began, around 200 deaths every day are still caused by smoking.
Steve Brine, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Public
Health and Primary Care, said: “The UK now has comprehensive
tobacco control legislation which is the envy of the world but whilst we
have made great strides in the right direction, there is more to do.
“Our vision is nothing less than to create a smoke free generation.”
The 32 page document sets out a number of measures and strategies
to help achieve that aim and an entire section is devoted to electronic
cigarettes. It says that while two thirds of smokers say they want to
stop smoking, long-term success rates remain low.
The Plan continues: “Stopping smoking is hard and many smokers
are turning to e-cigarettes to help them in their attempts. In 2016
it was estimated that 2 million consumers in England had used
these products and completely stopped smoking and a further
470,000 were using them as an aid to stop smoking. “The evidence
is increasingly clear that e-cigarettes are significantly less harmful
to health than smoking tobacco.”
“Public Health England has produced guidance for employers and
organisations looking to introduce policies around e-cigarettes and
vaping in public and recommend such policies to be evidence-based.”
“PHE recommends that e-cigarette use is not covered by smokefree
legislation and should not routinely be included in the requirements
of an organisation’s smokefree policy.”
22 ISSUE 12 VAPOUROUND MAGAZINE
The Plan, titled “Towards a Smokefree Generation” says the
government will ‘critically evaluate’ alternatives to smoking including
e-cigarettes in terms of short and long-term risks to users and the
risks posed to children, non-smokers and bystanders.
It goes on: “The challenge will remain to develop an environment
that maximises reductions in smoking prevalence and improves
public health, while providing accurate information to the public .”