Written question asked by Andrew Lewer (Conservative) on Thursday, 25 July 2019, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 3 September 2019. It was answered by Jo Churchill (Conservative) on Thursday, 5 September 2019 on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.

Tobacco

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps (a) Public Health England and (b) his Department are taking to ensure that smokers are aware that heated tobacco products are less harmful than cigarettes.

Answer: The consumption of any tobacco product is harmful. Therefore the best thing a smoker can do for their health is to stop use of tobacco products, including heated tobacco products. As part of our commitment to evaluate the evidence of these products, we will run a call for independent evidence to assess how effective heated tobacco products are, or are not, in helping people quit smoking. Furthermore, as committed in the Tobacco Control Plan, Public Health England will continue to review the evidence on e-cigarettes and other novel nicotine delivery systems annually till 2022.

Secondary information