Banning e-cigarettes in public spaces could be "damaging", health officials have said.
The comments from Public Health England (PHE) come after a medic at the British Medical Association's annual meeting in Belfast called for restrictions on places where e-cigarettes can be used in public.
But if such a policy was in place, it may put off smokers from using e-cigarettes to help them quit, PHE said.
Rosanna O'Connor, director of drugs, alcohol and tobacco at PHE, said: "Vaping is not the same as smoking, second-hand smoke is harmful to health but there is no evidence that e-cigarette vapour carries the same harms.
"In fact a ban on using e-cigarettes in public places could be damaging, as it may put off smokers from using e-cigarettes to help them quit. "
Dr Iain Kennedy, a consultant in public health, from Glasgow, called for restrictions on places where e-cigarettes can be used in public.
"There is growing evidence that passive vaping happens, particularly based around testing nicotine levels in households," he said.
"What we don't know yet is what the precise mechanisms of that are, what long-term harm there is. This is cutting edge research, with findings being published at the moment."
Read more: Marketing of e-cigarettes 'linked to rise in youngsters trying them'
He added: "They are undoubtedly safer than cigarettes but that does not mean they are completely 100% safe.
"It looks like they are probably safe in short-term use. We don't have any evidence on long-term use because they are relatively new products.
"We always ask 'are e-cigarettes safer than cigarettes?' But I don't think taking the most harmful manmade product as the yardstick for safety is a good idea.
"It is a precautionary principle - until we do the studies and have a better idea of what the risks may or may not be, we should restrict their use in public places."
Dr Kennedy also called for a ban on the use of the chemical diacetyl in e-cigarettes.
The chemical has been linked to scarring and constriction of the tiny airways in the lungs when inhaled.
He said that the chemical, which is used to create a buttery flavour in some flavoured e-cigarettes, is "already a concern among the e-cigarette community".
His proposals were carried as a reference, which means they were noted but not made into official BMA policy.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel