{"id":20361,"date":"2025-01-28T15:41:56","date_gmt":"2025-01-28T15:41:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/?p=20361"},"modified":"2025-01-28T15:44:02","modified_gmt":"2025-01-28T15:44:02","slug":"pharmacists-must-not-be-criminalised-for-promoting-vapes-as-stop-smoking-aid-say-uk-mps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/post\/pharmacists-must-not-be-criminalised-for-promoting-vapes-as-stop-smoking-aid-say-uk-mps\/","title":{"rendered":"Pharmacists must not be \u2018criminalised\u2019 for promoting vapes as stop smoking aid, say UK MPs"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Pharmacists could find themselves \u201con the wrong side of the law\u201d under tough new vaping restrictions, MPs in the UK have warned. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The upcoming Tobacco and Vapes Bill<\/a> is set to \u201cban the advertising and sponsorship of all vapes and other nicotine products (such as nicotine pouches), mirroring impactful restrictions on tobacco,\u201d according to the Department of Health and Social Care.<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But MPs have now called for these restrictions on promotion to be urgently clarified so pharmacists don\u2019t become criminalised for encouraging smokers to quit cigarettes using much safer vapes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vapes as a smoking cessation tool<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr Caroline Johnson, Conservative MP for Sleaford and North Hykeham, called for amendments to the Bill – which passed its second reading in October \u2013 to protect pharmacists when promoting vaping as a smoking cessation tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During a debate<\/a> among the Public Bill Committee last week, she said: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cI am keen to ensure the minister clarifies that a doctor\u2026 or other healthcare professional such as a pharmacist\u2026 will not find him or herself on the wrong side of the law for promoting vaping to individuals who smoke.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Johnson, who is also the shadow health minister, expressed concerns that it could become harder for pharmacists to \u201cprovide and openly discuss vaping products\u2026 as a quit aid\u201d if the Bill as it stands were to become law. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cIt is important to consider how pharmacists and other health professionals will be able to have discussions with their patients or clients in which they may wish to say, \u2018vaping is better for you\u2019, and in so doing promote the process,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI want the minister to assure the committee that he has considered the position of pharmacists and people who will legally be selling these products as a stop-smoking device\u2026 and made sure they will not be criminalised,\u201d she told MPs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While pharmacists \u201cmay not want to fall foul of the law\u201d, opposition assistant whip Gregory Stafford added that they may want \u201cto advertise vapes as a smoking cessation tool\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Labour MP for North Somerset and pharmacist Sadik Al-Hassan insisted that Johnson\u2019s proposed amendments are \u201cnot needed\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said: \u201cCurrent medicine regulations do not allow products to be advertised, but do not get in the way of smoking cessation clinics that currently take place at GP surgeries or pharmacies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn fact\u2026 [the amendments] could be used as a loophole for advertising by an industry that has been shown to be very successful at finding ways around legislation to increase market share and the numbers of smokers and vapers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Free vape starter kits<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The latest concerns come after Community Pharmacy England announced in November that pilot pharmacies would offer smokers free vape starter kits to help them quit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to NHS data from April, community pharmacies have seen a 10 per cent rise in the number of people using them to start quitting smoking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill includes an \u201chistoric\u201d generational ban on smoking and a major crackdown on vapes and other nicotine alternatives. As well as banning the advertisement and sponsorship of vapes, it sets out to restrict e-liquid flavours that are considered to have \u201cyouth appeal\u201d or are \u201ctargeted at minors\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This will include flavours like cotton candy, cola and dessert, but also fruit, which is the most popular among smokers switching to vapes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Manufacturers of vapes will be required to use plain, \u201cless visually appealing\u201d packaging and shops will have to move them out of sight of children and away from products that might appeal to them such as sweets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s next? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill is currently in \u2018Committee stage\u2019 where it undergoes detailed examination.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It will then move to the Report stage, where MPs have the opportunity, on the floor of the Commons, to consider further changes. Following this, MPs get the chance to vote again at a third reading. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the Bill passes these stages in the Commons, it then has to go through the same process in the Lords before receiving royal assent and finally becoming law.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pharmacists could find themselves \u201con the wrong side of the law\u201d under tough new vaping restrictions, MPs in the UK have warned.  The upcoming Tobacco and Vapes Bill is set to \u201cban the advertising and sponsorship of all vapes and other nicotine…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":990002,"featured_media":20362,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[257,258],"tags":[186],"slider":[],"class_list":["post-20361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-legislation","tag-nicotine"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20361","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/990002"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20361"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20361\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20366,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20361\/revisions\/20366"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20361"},{"taxonomy":"slider","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/slider?post=20361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}