World Health Organization’s war on vapes continues as body rules devices can’t be recommended to help people quit smoking, contrary to NHS advice [Video]

13:07 EDT 02 Jul 2024, updated 13:22 EDT 02 Jul 2024

Vapes cannot be recommended as way to stop smoking as too little is known about the harms and benefits, bosses at the World Health Organization (WHO) have said.  

The global body’s ruling runs counter to NHS advice which says the devices are an effective way to quit the habit, which is one of the biggest causes of illness and death in the UK.

In world-first guidance setting out possible interventions to help people stop using tobacco products, the WHO labelled the evidence around e-cigarettes as ‘complex’. 

Vapes ‘may’ be recommended as a smoking cessation aid ‘in the future as evidence accumulates’, it added. 

Instead, health chiefs should back ‘behavioural’ support like counselling or smartphone apps and nicotine replacement therapy to get people to quit tobacco.