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E-cigarettes could be prescribed by NHS in world first

Decision ‘has the potential to tackle the stark disparities in smoking rates across England’, says health secretary

Jane Dalton
Friday 29 October 2021 07:06 BST
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<p>Doctors could prescribe vaping to smokers who want to quit </p>

Doctors could prescribe vaping to smokers who want to quit

England could become the first country in the world to prescribe medicinally licensed e-cigarettes to cut smoking rates.

Fresh guidance from the medicines regulator paves the way for vaping products to be prescribed on the NHS to tobacco smokers.

E-cigarettes were the most popular aid used by smokers trying to quit in England last year, and health chiefs say they have led to some of the highest success rates, alongside local “stop smoking” services, with up to 68 per cent successfully quitting.

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