E-cigarettes should be made available on the NHS to help smokers quit, a review of their use has concluded.

The report, commissioned by Public Health England, says that, ‘vaping’ is 95% less harmful than smoking tobacco and could be a “game changer” in the battle against cigarettes. The experts behind the report also believe that there is no evidence they give children a "gateway" into smoking.

It is estimated that more than 2.6 million adults in UK use e-cigarettes, with numbers rising.

Pharmacy leaders and health experts have been divided about whether e-cigarettes should be seen as a safer alternative to smoking. The Welsh government recently announced that it plans to ban the use of e-cigarettes in enclosed spaces.

Responding to the review, Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s director for England Howard Duff said: “E-cigarettes are currently unlicensed products with no standardisation of safety, quality or efficacy. As such, we believe they should not be sold or advertised from pharmacies.

“E-cigarettes contain less harmful toxins than tobacco but still contain nicotine, which is an addictive substance. As they are a very new product, no-one can be sure of the consequences of long-term use on health and further research is needed to determine this,” added Mr Duff.

“We echo the views of PHE and support the original intention of The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to regulate e-cigarettes as medicinal products as an aid to smoking cessation. The licensing process would align e-cigarettes with other nicotine reduction therapies and ensure quality control and standardisation of products.

In a statement, inventor the e-cigarette, Hon Lik, said he was pleased with the reports conclusions: “This is ultimately why I designed the device in the first place, so today is an exciting day for me to see that dream being acknowledged through formal channels.”

It is estimated that 80,000 people in England die every year as a result of cigarette smoking.