Health bill will ban e-cigarettes for under-18s

The Scottish Government has said the move is important in order to “protect children from nicotine addiction”, and the announcement was warmly welcomed by anti-smoking campaigners.

The upcoming piece of legislation will also create a statutory offence of smoking within hospital grounds, punishable by fines of up to £1,000, and require e-cigarette retailers to be registered.

It will also contain measures to introduce a statutory duty of candour for health and social care organisations, placing a duty on them to be open when harm has occurred, to provide support to all involved and training for staff involved with organisational responses after an incident.

Separate provisions will create a criminal offence of wilful neglect/ill-treatment to protect patients in cases of deliberate neglect or ill-treatment in the health and social care system.

Maureen Watt said: “E-cigarettes might have a place when it comes to helping current smokers to quit their habit.

“This government is not opposed to e-cigarettes, but we think it is right to protect children from nicotine addiction, and to limit the prevalence of smoking behaviours. Through this bill we will seek to strike that balance.”

A YouGov survey conducted in May 2014 found that 17 per cent of over-18s in Scotland reported using an e-cigarette - up dramatically from 3 per cent in 2010.

A majority of NHS health boards banned the use of e-cigarettes on their premises after new smoking ban guidelines were issued in April, and a spokesman for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde suggested the devices “mimic the habit and look of smoking and therefore provide negative role modelling for young people”.

Sheila Duffy, chief executive of anti-smoking group Ash Scotland, said that e-cigarettes “are likely to be far safer than smoked tobacco”, but that “there are still some unknowns and risks including the risk of addiction”.

She added: “Regulations to protect children from companies who will be looking to target them as future consumers are welcome.

“For existing smokers who are struggling to quit, e-cigarettes could be an alternative. Some smokers have found that these devices mimic the experience of cigarettes closely enough to allow them to move on to using these less harmful devices instead of cigarettes.

“I’d like to see this legislation walk the tightrope of protecting our children from commercial companies selling recreational nicotine, while at the same time facilitating adult smokers to be free from tobacco.”