Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government which regulatory body is responsible for regulating the safety of e-cigarettes.
The General Product Safety Directive and associated regulations apply to electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), for which Trading Standards are the enforcement authority.
The Department of Health is responsible for the transposition of the revised Tobacco Products Directive (Directive 2014/40/EU), which from May 2016 will introduce additional rules on the composition, safety and presentation of e-cigarettes.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency will be the designated competent authority under the Directive, which will operate a notification system for e-cigarettes and nicotine-containing refills prior to placing on the market.