Doctors want to ban e-cigs in pubs because of risks from passive vaping

June 24, 2016  21:12

E-cigarettes should be banned from pubs and restaurants because of the dangers of ‘passive vaping’, say doctors.

They want the devices outlawed from all enclosed public spaces on the grounds that they may harm anyone in the same room as the user, or ‘vaper’ – especially children and pregnant women.

There is growing evidence that chemicals released by the electronic devices cause long-term harm including lung damage, heart complications, cancer and stillbirth in pregnant women.

Yesterday, at the British Medical Association’s annual meeting in Belfast, doctors voted to press for a ban on e-cigarettes in enclosed public spaces including pubs, restaurants, concert halls and airports, bringing them in line with ordinary tobacco cigarettes.

The Government claimed that such a move would deter smokers from using them to quit. Up to 22,000 Britons a year now rely on electronic cigarettes to help them kick the habit and they will soon be available on the NHS.

But little is known about their long-term risks and experts are also worried they act as a ‘gateway’, encouraging youngsters to take up smoking.

Dr Iain Kennedy, chairman of the BMA’s public health committee and a consultant in Glasgow, said: ‘It is a myth that there is no such thing as passive vaping. There are new potential risks, and we don’t yet know the level of those risks.’

The extent to which nicotine from e-cigarettes may affect people near the vaper is still unclear, he added.

‘It does cause, in lower doses, short-term effects, such as raised heart rate and constriction of blood vessels,’ said Dr Kennedy. ‘If you have those conditions longer-term they can cause problems.

‘There is also a specific issue with nicotine and pregnant women – because of the constriction of the blood vessels, it reduces blood flow through to the placenta, which can cause problems for the foetus and increases the risk of stillbirth.’

‘They are undoubtedly safer than cigarettes but that does not mean they are completely 100 per cent safe.’

A review carried out by Australian researchers in April concluded that passive vaping may lead to ‘potential adverse health concerns’.

The authors, from Sydney, warned that there were particular dangers for children, pregnant women and other vulnerable patients with long-term illnesses.

But Public Health England claims e-cigarettes are 95 per cent safe and they were recently approved for use on the NHS.

From next year GPs are likely to start prescribing them to smokers to help them quit.

Rosanna O’Connor, director of drugs, alcohol and tobacco at Public Health England, said: ‘Vaping is not the same as smoking. Secondhand smoke is harmful to health but there is no evidence that e-cigarette vapour carries the same harms.

‘In fact a ban on using e-cigarettes in public places could be damaging, as it may put off smokers from using e-cigarettes to help them quit.’

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