Electronic cigarettes

There is evidence from the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency that some e-cigarettes currently on the market do not meet appropriate standards of safety, quality and efficacy, and that “levels of contamination” have been found in some products. For this reason, e-cigarettes will have to be licensed as a medicine in the UK from 2016.

In addition to the unknown health risks, the heated element is a potential fire risk and the contents of an e-cigarette can be hazardous if it breaks. Although it is not unlawful to permit the ‘smoking’ of e-cigarettes in the workplace, we would advise against it and suggest that an outside area (not the smoking area) should be set aside for the use of these devices.