Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the World Health Organization's decision to welcome the government of India's decision to ban e-cigarettes; and what plans they have to implement a similar ban in the UK.

The World Health Organization recommends countries either ban or regulate e-cigarettes. The Government has no current plans to ban e-cigarettes in the United Kingdom and they continue to be regulated under the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016. It remains the goal of the Government to maximise the public health opportunities presented by e-cigarettes to reduce smoking, while managing any risks. UK regulated e-cigarettes are far less harmful than smoking, but they are not risk free. Research shows e-cigarettes are effective in helping some smokers to quit. We continue to keep the evidence base on e-cigarettes under review and the next Public Health England annual review on e-cigarettes will be published this month.