Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of (a) vapes, (b) nicotine gum, (c) nicotine patches, (d) nicotine pouches and (e) other alternatives to smoking in helping to reduce the prevalence of smoking.

Our assessment is that nicotine replacement therapy, such as gum and patches, as well as vapes, alongside behavioural support from stop smoking services, are the most effective ways to reduce smoking. This assessment is based on the ‘Nicotine vaping in England’ report published in September 2022, and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guideline PH209, ‘Tobacco: preventing uptake, promoting quitting and treating dependence’ published in 2021.

The 2022 ‘Nicotine vaping in England’ report also includes a chapter on heated tobacco products. Although there is currently a limited evidence base on the health harms presented by heated tobacco products, it is clear that they do pose harm to users. The Government does not recommend use of these products and encourages users to quit.

There is limited research and evidence into the harms of nicotine pouches and their ability to support smoking quit attempts. However, in April this year the Committee on Toxicity published their ‘Statement on the bioavailability of nicotine from the use of oral nicotine pouches and assessment of the potential toxicological risk to users’, which is available at the following link:

https://cot.food.gov.uk/Statement%20on%20the%20bioavailability%20of%20nicotine%20from%20the%20use%20of%20oral%20nicotine%20pouches%20and%20assessment%20of%20the%20potential%20toxicological%20risk%20to%20users