Vapes should be prescription only, Mark Drakeford says

Disposable vapes could be banned under UK government plans.

Vapes should only be available on prescription for people quitting smoking, Mark Drakeford has said.

The first minister said he was "attracted" to Australia's policy of restricting the sale of vapes to pharmacies.

He has backed UK government plans that could see a ban on disposable vapes.

Medical experts had "significant differences" of opinion over whether they helped people quit tobacco, he added.

Mr Drakeford said: "In Australia for example the only way you can get an e-cigarette is by prescription. You can't buy them in shops.

"Only through a medical prescription as part of a supervised attempt to give up smoking are they available.

"And do you know, I would be attracted to that idea myself."

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He quoted the Australian government's website as saying that e-cigarettes are not safe and that there was "insufficient evidence" to promote their use for stopping smoking.

At question time in the Senedd, Mr Drakeford said the Welsh government wanted to "discourage" vaping in public places.

He said he welcomed Rishi Sunak's announcement at Conservative party conference, where the prime minister said the government would consider restricting the sale of disposable vapes.

The move could see them banned from sale. Mr Drakeford the Welsh government would "align" itself with an expected consultation from the UK government on the issue.

Mark Drakeford said he would like to see vapes only available on prescription.

A failure to change the law in 2016 means the Senedd does not have the power to restrict the use of vapes.

At that time, when Mr Drakeford was health minister, the Welsh government wanted to ban vaping in enclosed places where children were likely to be present, but its plans were thwarted when it lost a vote in the Senedd.

Plaid Cymru voted against the proposed legislation after a Labour minister described them as a "cheap date".

On Tuesday, Labour MS Ken Skates said the government had "tragically lost almost a decade of opportunity to protect young people from the harmful effects of vaping and that's as a direct result of the public health bill falling at the final stage in 2016".

Conservative MS Darren Millar asked what the Welsh government was doing to help smokers get e-cigarettes on the NHS to help them quit.

Mr Drakeford said disposable vapes were "pernicious" and the evidence that vapes helped people kick the habit of smoking was "a good deal more equivocal" than Mr Millar suggested.

Most vapes users also smoked "and that does not reduce the harm of cigarettes themselves", Mr Drakeford said.