Hospitals Urged to Lift the Ban on Vaping

Patients should be allowed to vape in hospitals to encourage people to quit smoking, a lobby group has said.

The Irish Vape Vendors Association (IVVA), which represents e-cigarette sellers, said that forcing people to use their devices alongside smokers in designated areas away from hospitals was creating the impression that the products are as damaging for health as tobacco.

Public health experts in Britain have called for a relaxation of rules around vaping in hospitals and a number of hospital trusts in Scotland and England have reversed bans.

The Health Service Executive has banned vaping in its buildings and on hospital campuses since 2014.

Gillian Golden, spokeswoman for the IVVA, claimed there was a lack of joined-up thinking in the HSE’s approach to smoking cessation.