Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the remarks by Lord Prior of Brampton on 14 September 2016 (HL Deb, col 1537) stating that the Government would continue to monitor and develop the evidence base for the regulation of e-cigarettes, what steps (1) Public Health England, and (2) the Medical and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, are taking to encourage research on e-cigarettes.

Public Health England’s (PHE) next updated evidence report on e-cigarettes is expected to be published before the end of the 2017.

In addition to the publication of an evidence review, PHE have partnered with Cancer Research UK and the UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies to develop a forum that brings together policy makers, researchers, practitioners and the non-governmental organisation representatives to discuss the emerging evidence, identify research priorities and generate ideas for new research projects, thereby enhancing collaboration between forum participants.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority will continue to undertake market surveillance of e-cigarettes as part of their role as the Competent Authority, feeding back any intelligence to the Department and PHE.