MHRA introduces new regulation for electronic cigarettes

The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is to begin regulating all nicotine-containing products (NCPs) – including electronic cigarettes – as medicines.

Following a public consultation into the best way of ensuring such products are sold safely and meet the necessary standards, it has been decided that introducing a more rigorous licensing method is the best way forward.

This will give users the confidence that any NCPs they purchase are safe, are of the right quality and are an effective means of helping them cut down or quit their smoking habits.

It will also prevent products such as e-cigarettes from being marketed unethically as lifestyle products, rather than smoking cessation aids.

Jeremy Mean, the MHRA's group manager of vigilance and risk management of medicines, said: "The decision announced today provides a framework that will enable good quality products to be widely available … It's about making sure that smokers have an effective alternative that they can rely on."

The British Medical Association has welcomed this move, saying it will lay the groundwork for more research into the efficacy and health implications of e-cigarettes.