Should the strict rules be changed to allow vaping in pubs and on buses?

TALK about a nanny state! In times of financial difficulty in the NHS, when people are unable to access treatment for serious illnesses, there are calls for vaping to be available on prescription (Mail). It has also been suggested that people should be able to vape on buses and in other public places. Why should the needs of smokers take precedence over those who have chosen not to smoke or who have given up? Inflicting smoke on others is distasteful. Perhaps if treatment were withheld for self-inflicted ills, people would be less inclined to over-indulge in things that cause addictions. We should take responsibility for ourselves and not expect the Government and NHS to pick up the pieces. GINNY SPEED, address supplied. AS AN asthmatic, for years before the smoking ban I was unable to travel by train or bus, visit cafes, restaurants or

the cinema. The relaxing of vaping rules would once again greatly curtail my freedom to travel and socialise. Many times people have passed me on the street blowing strong vapour into my face, which has caused me to become dizzy and struggle to breathe. Surely our overworked NHS would not want the increase in patients that this poorly considered change in vaping rules would undoubtedly cause.

G. THREADGOLD, Skipton, N. Yorks.

I AM against the NHS having to fork out for vaping apparatus for people who are trying to stop smoking. You can buy a vape pen from as little as £5.99, and vape liquid is £1 for a bottle that

can last three weeks. If you can afford to smoke, you can easily afford to buy your own equipment. I was a 20 to 30a-day hardcore smoker for 40 years before I made up my mind to stop. Vaping was the easiest and most stressfree way to do it. I paid for it easily and so could anyone else without sponging money off the NHS.

Mrs CHRIS BURMAN, Cleethorpes, Lincs. I HAVE coeliac disease, which means my immune system attacks my body when I eat gluten. I used to be able to get bread on prescription, but the powers that be decreed these foods should no longer be subsidised. I don’t mind paying £3 for a small sliced loaf, but I do object to subsidising vaping equipment.

Mrs M. AUBREY, Willington, Derbys.

IF MPs want to encourage the use of e-cigarettes, they should spend some time in a confined space with someone vaping. There are plenty of other ways to stop smoking, such as nicotine patches and chewing gum, which don’t affect others.

RICHARD MARTIN, High Wycombe, Bucks. HOW will the NHS afford to provide vaping apparatus? By stopping ridiculous prescriptions for sun cream and toothpaste.

T. BARDEN, Hornchurch, Essex.