Vapouround magazine ISSUE 12 | Page 22

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 .”