NEWS
NORTHERN IRELAND’S HEALTH TRUSTS HAVE
AN ANTI-SMOKING AND ANTI-VAPING POLICY
ALL NI TRUSTS DON’T JUST PROHIBIT SMOKING,
THEY’RE ALSO ANTI-VAPING. WHY?
BY LEO FORFAR
All five of the Northern Ireland Health Trusts have
adopted an anti-smoking policy which also
prohibits e-cigarettes. The initiative, called
“Smoke Free,” requires hospitals under control of
the Trusts to also prohibit e-cigarette use. It cites
a near five-year-old statement from the British
Medical Association (BMA) which runs contrary to
studies and pro-vaping endorsements made by
various health bodies since then.
“There is a lack of rigorous, peer-reviewed studies
to support the use of e-cigarettes as a safe and
effective nicotine-replacement therapy,” says the
policy.
This statement was first published in October 2013
and is out of step with the contemporary medical
consensus for the UK and Northern Ireland.
The NHS and Public Health England now describe
e-cigarettes as both 95 percent less harmful
than cigarette smoking and an effective means of
cessation, contributing to over 20,000 quits per year.
In addition, Stoptober 2017 saw more institutional
governmental support for e-cigarettes than ever
before, especially from healthcare professionals.
The Royal College of Physicians has urged
hospitals to better embrace e-cigarettes to lessen
the burden on the NHS to curb smoking-related
illness and take the next step in lowering rates.
14 | VM18
Online journal Oxford Academic has also criticised
the conflation of tobacco and vapour products,
calling for a clearer distinction, which this policy
does not appear to comply with either.
The latest and last NI Trust to fall in line is the
Western Trust. The Smoke Free initiative for the
Western Trust originally went into effect in October
2014 and its renewal – including a vaping ban – was
announced on June 25 this year. The other four
Trusts with this rule are Northern Ireland, Northern,
Southern, South Eastern and Belfast. Vapouround
reached out to all five, as well as the Northern
Ireland Department of Health, for comment. The
responses have revealed a steadfast dedication to
the policy, which is not founded on harm reduction,
though some are undergoing review.
The Department of Health NI have stood by the
policy, citing the independence of the various Trusts
in adopting it. A spokesperson said:
“Whilst policy prohibiting smoking and vaping on
Trust grounds is a matter for each Trust to decide
on, it is vitally important that health and social care
organisations demonstrate leadership in protecting
health and promoting healthy behaviours. Vaping, in
an area where tobacco smoking is already banned,
cannot be considered as a health
promoting behaviour.”