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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.