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3.4 E-Cigarettes
Safetymeasures stipulate that smoking is only permittedwithin designated safe locations on offshore installations.
The increasing use of e-cigarettes has prompted employers across the industry to request advice from
Oil & Gas UK on their use offshore. The common argument for e-cigarettes is that they are an aid to smokers who
wish to stop smoking. This is not supported by the only scientifically-led investigation
2
to date of this concept,
which shows that e-cigarettes are not more effective than existing nicotine replacement therapies (gums, patches,
etc) in helping individuals to stop smoking. Existing nicotine replacement therapies are medically-regulated, but
e-cigarettes are not, although it is expected that those containing more than 20 miligrammes/litre of nicotine
will be regulated from 2016.
Oil & Gas UK has now produced advisory notes on managing the use of both tobacco nicotine and e-cigarettes on
offshore installations, which have been circulated to its forums and networks. The advice recommends that the
industry is consistent with well-established public health measures to reduce tobacco smoking and that unless,
and until, they become medically regulated, e-cigarettes should not be permitted offshore.
2
A paper on ‘Electronic Cigarettes for Smoking Cessation’ was published in
Lancet
journal in 2013.
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