Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to equip clinicians with accurate information about the benefits of smokers switching to vaping as recommended by Dr Javed Khan’s recent independent review into tobacco control policies.

Since 2014, we have provided evidence-based information and guidance for clinicians and healthcare professionals on vaping. This includes guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, online training and printed advice, blogs, videos and the publication of ‘Nicotine vaping in England: 2022 evidence update main findings’ in September 2022. We also recently published online information on the benefits of smokers switching to vaping, which is available at the following link:

https://www.nhs.uk/better-health/quit-smoking/vaping-to-quit-smoking

The Office of Health Improvement and Disparities is based within the Department of Health and Social Care. The Department is currently considering the recommendations made in ‘The Khan review: making smoking obsolete’, including those related to vaping. This includes encouraging adult smokers to switch to vaping.