Government says ‘no plans’ to make vapes prescription-only

The government has told the parliament that it has no plans currently to make prescription-only.

In response to a question by Dr Neil Hudson, the Conservative MP for Penrith and The Border, on restricting the supply of vape products through pharmacies to people with a prescription, Public Health Minister Neil O’Brien stated the that government has not made a formal assessment on the topic.

“There are no medicinally licensed vaping products approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. As such, the government is not currently considering making vaping products prescription-only,” the minister added in the written statement.

Earlier this week, the Health and Social Care Committee of the House of Commons has asked the government to consider bringing restrictions on packaging and marketing of vapes in line with those that apply to tobacco products to ‘tackle a rise in use among children’.

“Decisive action is needed now from both [the] government and industry to tackle an alarming trend in the number of children vaping and to protect them from its harmful effects,” Steve Brine MP, the chair of the committee, said.