Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

NICE updates tobacco guidance with new vaping advice

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has unveiled a revised tobacco guidance, which includes updated advice for healthcare professionals on what to say to smokers about vaping.

The agency today (25 June) launched a consultation on the recommendations in the draft guideline, which is a consolidation and update of eight previous guidelines on smoking, developed in collaboration with Public Health England.


The guideline notes that nicotine-containing e-cigarettes can help people to stop smoking and are similarly effective to other cessation options such as a combination of short- and long-acting nicotine replacement therapy (NRT).

The draft recommendations advise that, combined with behavioural support, the option of either a combination of short- and long-acting NRT or nicotine-containing e-cigarettes are more likely to result in people successfully stopping smoking.

“We need to use every tool in our arsenal to reduce smoking rates, including education, behavioural support, financial incentives, and e-cigarettes if people are interested in using them. Combined, we hope that people who smoke will feel enabled to give up tobacco products once and for all,” Dr Paul Chrisp, director of NICE’S Centre for Guidelines, said.

The recommendations in the draft guideline include advising people on where to find information on e-cigarettes, that e-cigarettes are substantially less harmful than smoking, but that the long-term health effects of e-cigarettes are still uncertain. People should also be advised on how to use e-cigarettes correctly and be informed that they should stop smoking completely if they decide to start using e-cigarettes.

Public health charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) has welcomed the consultation, saying the guidance is needed as 30 per cent of smokers have never tried e-cigarettes despite being a proven aid to quitting, more effective than nicotine patches or gum. Significantly, according to a YouGov survey for ASH, only one in ten smokers (12%) are aware that e-cigarettes are much less harmful than smoking.

“With support and encouragement from health professionals more smokers would use an e-cigarette to help them stop, increasing the overall number who successfully quit long-term. This would be another step forward to securing the Government ambition for England to be Smokefree by 2030,” Deborah Arnott, chief executive of ASH said.

The NICE consultation closes on 6 August.

More For You

The Complete Anti-Inflammatory Guide - a useful resource for pharmacists to support patient health and wellbeing

Chronic inflammation is linked to more than 50 per cent of all deaths worldwide and one in five cancers.

The Complete Anti-Inflammatory Guide - a useful resource for pharmacists to support patient health and wellbeing

When Hemant Patel was struck down by Covid, he was determined to discover what was it that led to the disease having a devastating impact on the lives of people who seemed be healthy – the culmination of his journey is the book, The Complete Anti-Inflammatory Guide.

“I was gasping for breath and counting the number of days I might be alive when I was infected with Covid,” reveals Patel.

Keep ReadingShow less
Scottish community pharmacist working in high street pharmacy with supportive environment

The PDA wants investment to reach those who deliver services to patients every day

Pic credit: iStock

Funding boost in Scotland “needs to work for not just pharmacy owners but pharmacists too”, says PDA

An increase in funding for community pharmacies in Scotland needs to lead to a greater focus on supporting pharmacists rather than “simply sustain business models”, according to the Pharmacy Defence Association (PDA).

Earlier this week, Community Pharmacy Scotland (CPS) accepted the Scottish government’s initial financial offer for the 2025/26 fiscal year, securing a guaranteed minimum reimbursement of £120 million for community pharmacies — up from £110 million from 2024/25.

Keep ReadingShow less
GP surgery upgrades for annual appointments

The surgeries will have additional space to “see more patients, boost productivity and improve patient care”

Pic credit: iStock

GP surgery upgrades to create 8.3 million more annual appointments

Over 1,000 GP surgeries will have their premises modernised to meet the needs of a further 8.3 million appointments each year, the government has announced.

Backed by a cash injection of over £102 million, the surgeries will have additional space to “see more patients, boost productivity and improve patient care”.

Keep ReadingShow less
Wales boosts funding for pharmacy-led UTI and sore throat test services

The sore throat test (STTT) and treat service will be widely available

Pic credit: istock

Welsh pharmacies receive funding boost for clinical services

Two key clinical services will be available in 99 per cent of community pharmacies across Wales after a boost in funding.

The sore throat test (STTT) and treat service and the urinary tract infection (UTI) service have both benefitted from contractual negotiations between the Welsh Government and Community Pharmacy Wales (CPW).

Keep ReadingShow less
Paul Bennett
Paul Bennett, CEO, Royal Pharmaceutical Society
Paul Bennett, CEO, Royal Pharmaceutical Society

Pharmacists need to take advantage of independent prescribing pathways, says Bennett

Independent prescribing will be a “significant point” in the history of community pharmacy, according to Royal Pharmaceutical Society chief executive Paul Bennett.

Last month, the RPS announced the launch of a comprehensive new prescribing development programme to support pharmacists across all stages of their prescribing careers.

Keep ReadingShow less