On 12 June 2013 the UK Government announced that the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) will regulate all nicotine-containing products (NCPs) such as electronic cigarettes as medicines.
Electronic cigarettes are battery-operated products designed to replicate smoking behaviour without the use of tobacco. They use heat to vaporise a liquid-based solution containing nicotine into an aerosol mist. Their use has grown rapidly, with an estimated 1.3 million people using them in the UK. They are perceived as less dangerous than smoking conventional cigarettes since they do not involve the burning of tobacco which results in the production of tar and other carcinogens.
