Dr. Helen McAvoy:

The HSE has just published national clinical guidelines for smoking cessation. It has gone through a very detailed process involving the national clinical effectiveness committee, which has reviewed all of the evidence and concluded that the most robust, complete and stable evidence relates to a combination of approaches, which are behavioural and psychological support and the use of approved medicinal pharmaceutical aids, including nicotine replacement therapy.

The evidence around e-cigarettes is much lower and it compares unfavourably with that other information. The best evidence is to engage with the State-funded statutory support services offered through quit.ie, which are free and funded by the Government and backed up by the strongest amount of evidence. People who vape are absolutely welcome at the door of quit.ie. Whether someone vapes, uses tobacco, uses cannabis or dual uses, everyone is welcome at the door of the HSE to engage in the statutory stop smoking services that are most strongly supported by evidence. When somebody goes into a vaping store, I cannot guarantee that he or she gets the correct behavioural counselling support that we know is also needed to help people quit. It is the combination of those two things. There is a very strong training programme within the HSE that ensures that all stop smoking advisers know how to support people in terms of behavioural approaches and the psychology and counselling that is needed as well. We know that works and that is what we are sticking with.