E-cigarette ‘rip-off’ that could cost the NHS dear

FIRMS making e-cigarettes could be ripping off customers – with research showing refill cartridges are being sold for around £1.50, despite costing only about 4p to produce. This means customers are paying roughly 7 times the cost price, when typically consumers pay around eight times the cost of manufacturing a product.

Now campaigners have raised concerns that the mark-up means taxpayers could lose out if the NHS finalises a deal thought to be under discussion for British American Tobacco (BAT) to supply prescription e-cigarettes.

Jonathan Isaby, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: ‘The NHS has a terrible record of negotiating a good price, despite its scale as a buyer. There is no scope for the NHS to tie itself to a contract which delivers anything but the best value.’ The cartridges contain 1.5ml of liquid and need replacing every few days at the cost of £1.50 each.

Using materials available on the internet, it is possible to make enough liquid to fill a cartridge for around 4p – but wholesale prices mean they are likely to cost even less for major firms to make.

However Simon Jordan, who owns e-cigarette subscription service Rokfri, claimed many firms simply price products so they are cheaper than cigarettes – which carry duty plus VAT – rather than in proportion to what they actually cost to produce.

Yesterday Dr Tim Ballard of the Royal College of GPs said: ‘It is unclear if making e-cigarettes available on prescription is cost-effective for the NHS.’ The Tobacco Manufacturers’ Association and BAT declined to comment.

A Department of Health spokesman said: ‘The NHS has strict systems in place to make sure we get the best value for money. Any concerns are based on pure speculation.’