Our policy on e-cigarettes
Contact us
Get in touch with our policy team to find out more information about our work and our policies.
We support a balanced approach towards e-cigarettes, which maximises their potential to help people quit smoking, whilst minimising the risks of unintended consequences that could promote smoking.
We support ‘light touch’ regulation of e-cigarettes, to ensure product safety and consistent dose, restrict marketing that risks re-normalising smoking, and stop them being sold to children. At present, we do not believe there is enough evidence to justify an indoor ban on e-cigarettes.
It is important that adequate protections exist to stop the promotion of e-cigarettes to young people and non-smokers. We must also ensure that the tobacco industry’s investment in e-cigarettes does not provide them with an opportunity to influence health policy.
There are a range of unanswered questions about the likely impact of these products on individuals and effective tobacco control policies, which is why we have established the UK E-cigarette Research Forum with Public Health England (PHE) and the UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies (UKCTAS), and why we are increasing our investment in e-cigarette research.
Related documents
Electronic cigarettes policy briefing (July 2018)
Electronic cigarettes (November 2016)
Q&A: Electronic cigarettes (November 2016)
Electronic cigarette marketing: Current research and policy (October 2016)
CAP consultation on the new rules on advertising e-cigarettes (October 2016)
The role of electronic cigarettes in Stop Smoking Services (July 2016)
Our response to the Welsh Government's Public Health White Paper consultation (September 2014)
Our response to the CAP and BCAP consultation on new advertising rules for e-cigarettes (April 2014)
The marketing of electronic cigarettes in the UK (November 2013)
See also
The UK E-Cigarette Research Forum (UKERCF)
New study comes the closest yet to proving that e-cigarettes aren’t as dangerous as smoking
Stoptober 2016: Could E-cigarettes help Stop Smoking Services beat addiction?
10 common questions about e-cigarettes answered
Reducing the harm of tobacco, could e-cigarettes be part of the solution?
Headlines about e-cigarettes don’t mean they’re ‘not safer than tobacco’
Young people and e-cigarettes – what do the latest data tell us?
Last reviewed
Support those who want to stop smoking
Your local service that helps people quit smoking could be at risk as a result of cuts to public health funding.