Wales kicks out e-cigarettes

Wales will ban people  from using e-cigarettes in enclosed places such as restaurants, pubs and at work under a new public health law.

 

E-CigarettesThe plan, likely to come into force in 2017 and the first in the UK, has already divided opinion among health and medical groups, including some anti-smoking campaigners.

But ministers say it is a “balance of risk” and will stop children smoking reports BBC.

Tattoo parlours will also need licences under the Public Health Bill.

In taking the decision to bring in the e-cigarette ban, ministers have argued they did not want to take the risk of seeing smoking “normalised” again after the success of the smoking ban.

In a public consultation on the proposals last year, 79% of responses were opposed.

There have been concerns that it might make it more difficult for smokers using e-cigarettes as a way of stopping.

George Butterworth, tobacco policy manager for Cancer Research UK, said there was no evidence of normalisation of e-cigarettes with young people – and those using them were “very, very small numbers”.

“Those that are, are the type of people who would try alcohol or tobacco cigarettes anyway – so without that evidence we wouldn’t support a ban on the use of e-cigarettes indoors under the idea of normalisation,” he said.

“E-cigarettes are an opportunity for people to move away from tobacco smoking which is very, very bad for their health, and we wouldn’t want to put up any barriers to prevent people from quitting cigarettes. “