Smoking Cessation: Prescription of E-cigarettes

Robert Goodwill Excerpts

Monday 1st November 2021 Commons Chamber

[Maggie Throup]

I welcome the right hon. Gentleman’s support on the issue we are talking about and on our ambitions to make this country smoke free by 2030.

On the MHRA, the updated guidance provided further details on the steps required to license an e-cigarette as a medicinal product. To achieve a licence, a product would need to meet the standards of quality, safety and efficacy expected of a medicinal product. If successful, that would potentially allow safe and effective products to be made available for prescription for tobacco smokers who wish to quit. The update provides clarification and gives more guidance to potential providers on that issue.

The right hon. Gentleman asked about timescales. We anticipate that if a product was put to the MHRA today, for example, there could be an 18 to 24-month process for that product to be licensed. At this stage, we could not say anything further than that, so we are quite a long way from any e-cigarette being licensed and provided as a prescription medicine.

The public health grant increased by £135 million in 2020-21 and by £55 million in 2021-22. With regard specifically to the public health grant for smoking services, it is up to the local authority to decide how it spends its allocation of funding, but in addition, in our long-term plan, we have committed to helping to drive smoking cessation for a number of different groups. We want to provide help with cessation plans for in-patients and pregnant women, and to provide support for those with mental health and learning disabilities to tackle their smoking addictions. All in all, a lot of money is being spent both at the public health level and at the NHS level. We will continue to make sure that we do whatever we can in our power to make England smoke free by 2030.

[Mr Robert Goodwill (Scarborough and Whitby) (Con)]

Many people who wish to stop smoking are motivated by the wish to be healthier, but there is also a financial impact on the family from somebody smoking, not least because the Chancellor put 88p on the most expensive cigarettes and even the cheapest are almost a tenner now. However, many people buy cigarettes under the counter or from a mate down the pub. Will the Minister engage with her opposite number in the Home Office to ensure that combating tobacco smuggling remains a priority for Border Force?

[Maggie Throup]

My right hon. Friend makes a very good point. I promise I will engage with my opposite number in the Home Office to tackle the illicit import of cigarettes and other substances.