To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the findings by Public Health England that e-cigarettes are around 95 per cent less harmful to health than traditional cigarettes are reaching the target audience; and if he will make a statement.
Answered on
25 June 2019
The Government is committed to helping people to quit smoking by permitting innovative technologies that minimise the risk of harm, and through maximising the availability of safer alternatives to smoking. Public Health England continues to provide smokers and the public with clear, evidence based and accurate information on the relative harm of nicotine, e-cigarettes, other nicotine delivery systems and smoked tobacco, to enable informed decision-making. There were over 2.5 million e-cigarettes users in England in 2017, an increase from 1.6 million in 2014. Over half of those using e-cigarettes have quit smoking for good. Adult smoking prevalence in England is at its lowest level on record at 14.9%.