Electronic cigarette is allowed in hospital in United Kingdom as the health managers have decided to allow vaping in grounds of Devon’s largest medical service provider.
Electronic cigarette, also known as e-cigarette is a handheld battery-powered vaporiser that simulates smoking and provides some of the behavioral aspects of smoking. The board of the NHS University Hospitals Plymouth has now rethought the ban, after Public Health England (PHE) said vaping was 95 percent less harmful than smoking.
Derriford Hospital banned all forms of smoking on its premises from 2016, according to a report of British Broadcasting Corporation or BBC.
Derriford could also start issuing disposable e-cigarettes as part of its drive to cut levels of smoking. PHE has said “when supported by a smoking cessation service, [vaping] helped smokers to quit tobacco altogether”.
The plans would see the external area at the hospital becoming “vape-friendly” but signage will request people to avoid entrances and bus stops.
Painted lines and signs “will clearly define the point at which smokers are requested to extinguish their cigarettes” and where they can vape. Professor John Newton, director of health improvement at PHE, said: “There is no situation where it would be better for your health to continue smoking rather than switching completely to vaping.
“We are alert to the risks and the UK has taken a careful approach to maximise the opportunities that e-cigarettes present to help more smokers quit.”