Should you be able to get e-cigarettes on prescription? A recent article in The Times states it’s a good idea and backs up the suggestion with some very good points.
The media normally spends an inordinate amount of time extolling the so-called perils of using Juul and other vaping devices. It appears to be on a vendetta to paint vaping in a bad light.
For this reason, it’s all the more surprising to find a recent article in The Times that suggests ministers should do more to encourage the switch to vaping. Including allowing smokers to get e-cigarettes on prescription.
Jawad Iqbal begins his article by pointing out the fact that smoking is one of the biggest killers in Britain today. Unlike the many claims made about vaping, that’s not just a speculation, it’s an absolute fact.
Smoking is responsible for around half a million hospital admissions a year and nearly 80,000 deaths. This places a huge financial burden on the NHS.
Iqbal goes on to say the “good news” is, each year tens of thousands of people quit smoking with the help of e-cigarettes. He then hammers home the fact that vaping is 95 per cent less harmful than smoking conventional cigarettes.
The latter fact is seldom mentioned in the media, even though the data comes from an unbiased research study published by Public Health England.
The article goes on to point out the government is failing to make the most of this potential “public health revolution”. Taking things further, Iqbal suggests people should be able to get e-cigarettes on prescription and doctors be encouraged to recommend them.
Will e-cigarettes become available on prescription? It’s a good idea and one that could help save lives. If people were able to get e-cigarettes on prescription and this encouraged a greater exodus from smoking it would also remove some of the burden from the NHS. This would free up resources that could be better spent in other areas.
However, although anything is possible it does not seem likely that e-cigarettes on prescription will become an option that’s available anytime soon.
Should you be able to get e-cigarettes on prescription?
Take our poll below and have your say.
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