E cigarettes on prescription

Definitely prescribe- current research shows they are much harmful than fags as they don’t have the dozens of poisons in them. Thus risks to health are less so potential less cost to NHS in long term. I stress this is current research and may change

Noreen3

These shouldn't be prescribed.People only have themselves to blame,nobody forced them to smoke,money should be spent instead on people needing treatment for illnesses that they got through no fault of their own.Also,we don't know the long term effects yet of using these cigarette substitutes,I still move out of the way of people using them in the street,just as I do with cigarette smokers.

I think you should remember that many older people started smoking long before there was any campaign against it. The health implications simply weren't in the mainstream media. If you can remember that far back, there used to be TV ads promoting smoking.
That led to people, years later, wanting to quit and finding it extremely difficult.
E cigs have helped enormously with this. I have vaped to close on 8 years now after smoking for over 40 years. I recently had a chest x-ray, which showed that my lungs were clear.
So - long term damage perhaps, but how 'long term' does that mean?
There is no need for you to step away from people vaping, in the same way as you would step away from cigarette smoke. It simply isn't the same thing.
As for deaths in the USA from vaping, most of these have been from people vaping illegal products.

Why should it be on prescription? Smokers who want to give up can buy their own e cigs, after all at over £13 for a packet of cigarettes they are saving money and therefore can afford to buy their own e cigs.

These shouldn't be prescribed.People only have themselves to blame,nobody forced them to smoke,money should be spent instead on people needing treatment for illnesses that they got through no fault of their own.Also,we don't know the long term effects yet of using these cigarette substitutes,I still move out of the way of people using them in the street,just as I do with cigarette smokers.

I think it is a totally ridiculous idea when the NHS is supposed to be ‘overwhelmed’ (as usual!) and waiting lists are through the roof! I am a former smoker who uses vapes moderately (yes, I am aware they are not risk free). I am happy to pay for this far less expensive and less harmful habit and I don’t see why tax payers should shoulder a cost I choose to impose upon myself. What’s next? Sugar/fat free goodies, alcohol free drinks? It could go on and on…!

I can think of better ways to spend the money which would make an instant benefit to the patient. However, I assume somebody has done the numbers and the idea is that the NHS will save money in the long run by smokers avoiding COPD and other smoking related problems.

H1954

I'm an ex-smoker and I stopped with NO nicotine products whatsoever. How? Because I wanted to stop. I developed my own strategy which I have shared with friends and colleagues in the past. If an addict doesn't want to stop all the support and alternatives are a waste of time and money.

If an addict does want to stop then surely they should be helped? Like you I also stopped without using nicotine products and I am so pleased that I managed it but it doesn't prevent me from supporting the use of those products if it helps other people. Sadly people without much money often roll their own and this type of cigarette is extremely harmful, not only to themselves but to others around them. I think if you balanced the costs of smoking related illnesses to the NHS against the cost of providing e cigs on prescription, there is a good chance it would save money.

They're not though, are they?
People do give up by using a variety of methods.

I'm an ex-smoker and I stopped with NO nicotine products whatsoever. How? Because I wanted to stop. I developed my own strategy which I have shared with friends and colleagues in the past. If an addict doesn't want to stop all the support and alternatives are a waste of time and money.

I don't have a problem with prescribing e cigarettes on the NHS. I stopped smoking over 30 years ago after lots of failed attempts and it was really difficult. Nicotine is highly addictive and smoking is very damaging to the heart, lungs and arteries, even if e cigs are not entirely safe they are better than cigarettes and will in the long term save the NHS money. We prescribe methadone to drug addicts and tbh I don't see much difference. I wish there was something that could be done to help alcoholics as well.

I used an e cigarette to stop smoking, just gradually decreased the amount of nicotine in the liquid until there was none in it and I realised I didn't need it anymore.

That's how most precribable nicotine replacements courses have worked with the NHS before but those didn't work for me so I just used an e cigarette the same way and, success!

This thread is really disturbing

So your granddaughter didn't have a choice, BlueBelle?
It was her dads fault?

Oh dear Bluebelle, the studies show vaping is particularly harmful for young lungs. How old is your granddaughter?

MissA yes people have a choice about all sorts of things but should the NHS be paying when it can’t even manage the funds for major diseases It’s a life choice just like drinking and drug taking is a life choice There are many good chariots that deal with addictions let them work with addicted smokers
jaxjacky not sure how many years you are talking about but I retired from the NHS 7 years ago and was involved in smoking cessation and there’s was no Vapes on prescription then for sure in fact the jury was still out on e cigs
It’s swapping one addiction for another and that’s fine but let them pay for their own vaping material

One of the addictive parts of smoking is the hand to mouth action what does vaping do ??

My ex son in law went from going outside three of four times a night for a smoke to lying on the settee vaping all evening long consequence eldest granddaughter who didn’t smoke is now a daily vaper
Hate the awful smelly stuff

Oh, I don’t think that’s a valid comparison.

A prescription charge is just under £10 here. Just over £100 a year if you need ongoing medication.

In America you have to pay what the Pharma firms set. It’s vastly different. A 5 day course of antibiotics cost me almost £100.

I’m not saying there aren’t some people that would struggle with £10. I’ve been in that position. But you can’t use America as an comparison to justify the argument.

MissAdventure

We'll have to agree to disagree on that one, Blondie.
I'm sure most people can afford things which are prescribed.

On that latter point, I highly doubt it, to be honest. You only have to look at the situation in America, for example, where many people are dying because they simply cannot afford the medication on which they depend.

I'm not clear or if anyone is about the long term effects of vaping either.
I agree in principle with your views MissA but not sure that smoking/vaping falls into that category.

What about all those who eat themselves to death? Some even have to be lifted with a crane out of the house. That is also self inflicted. Drinking alcohol is also a choice, so do we refuse treatment for them? Many illnesses and injuries come from things we do from choice. It is almost impossible to draw a line.

However, the NHS is almost at the point of collapse and needs a major overhaul. Why are they treating people who are not actually physically or mentally sick or injured, things like IVF treatment, gender operations? I also wonder why we provide meals for people in hospital. It is the medical treatment they are coming in for. They feed themselves at home, why can't they be charged for meals in hospital?

We'll have to agree to disagree on that one, Blondie.
I'm sure most people can afford things which are prescribed.

I would support this move if we knew e-cigarettes/vaping was safe. But increasingly there’s evidence that it isn’t. The medical services in America are reporting more and more cases of lung damage and one Harvard study concludes it’s “the lesser of two evils” and that as it took years to recognise the damage done by cigarettes vaping looks to be following a similar pattern.

I don’t think we know enough to be prescribing these chemicals on the NHS.

And cigarettes have gone up enormously in the budget, thank goodness I gave up a few years ago, I used Nicorette gum but I was addicted to that for about seven years!!

MissAdventure

Yes, and if prescribing vape kits reduces spending in smoking related illnesses, then that money can go to those with life threatening illnesses.
I don't see the problem here.

The 'problem' as I see it is that if they can afford to smoke in the first place - which, let's face it, is a hell of an expensive habit these days - then they can afford to buy their own vapes.

Yes, and if prescribing vape kits reduces spending in smoking related illnesses, then that money can go to those with life threatening illnesses.
I don't see the problem here.

Blondiescot

MissAdventure

And if you're stupid enough to ski, ride a motorbike, drive a car, use an electric saw, ride a horse, mow your lawn. climb a mountain?
What then?

Hardly the same thing, is it? The dangers of smoking have been well publicised for years.

But its still a personal choice wether you want to or not. People know the dangers of smoking but still choose to smoke. People dont choose to get life threatening illnesses.