The government is set to ban the sale of e-cigarettes to under-18s amid concerns they could be "extremely damaging". 

The potentially toxic chemicals and nicotine in e-cigarettes could harm young people and encourage them to take up smoking, chief medical officer Dame Sally Davies warned yesterday (January 26) in her call for a ban on their use among minors.

The government is due to legislate on the ban this week, which Professor Davies said would close a "serious legal loophole".

"We do not yet know the harm that e-cigarettes can cause to adults, let alone to children, but we do know they are not risk-free," said chief medical officer Dame Sally Davies	More on e-cigarettes Pharmacists continue to stock e-cigarettes despite MHRA warnings E-cigarettes as effective as nicotine patches, NZ study concludes E-cigarettes to be licensed as medicines by 2016
	"At present, there is no legal restriction on people under the age of 18 buying products like e-cigarettes containing nicotine, which represents a serious legal loophole at a time when e-cigarettes are becoming increasingly popular with under-18s," she argued.

"We do not yet know the harm that e-cigarettes can cause to adults, let alone to children, but we do know they are not risk-free."

Professor Davies voiced fears that e-cigarettes could introduce teenagers to nicotine at an age when smoking tobacco was unlawful, and reverse the work done to reduce smoking rates – currently at their "lowest ever".

Rakesh Patel, pharmacy manager at Mr Pickford's Pharmacy, Leicester, said the ban would make little difference to the sale of e-cigarettes at his pharmacy. "I think it will have zero impact because I don't think I've sold one to an under-18 anyway," he told C+D.

"Our staff always engage in a conversation where we [try to] get them to quit using the traditional quit smoking programme we offer," Mr Patel explained.

But he doubted the ban would curb e-cigarette use among minors altogether. "It will possibly drive kids elsewhere," he said. "You can get [e-cigarettes] online... they will always be able to get hold of them if they want them."

In June, the MHRA announced plans to license e-cigarettes as medicines by 2016 to address growing concerns over safety and quality. At the time, the medicines watchdog said it would "very carefully" consider placing age restrictions on the products.