Tough crackdown on e-cigarettes: Drugs watchdog says they will be regulated like medicines Electronic cigarettes are to be regulated as medicines, the UK's drugs watchdog announced yesterday. Although some countries have banned them, e-cigarettes can at present be bought without restriction in the UK. From 2016 they will have to be licensed as nicotine-containing products. But they will still be available over the counter, similar to how paracetamol and aspirin are sold. GPs will be able to prescribe them - in the same way nicotine gum and patches are - as an aid to quitting smoking. Around 1.3million Britons use battery-powered e-cigarettes, which turn nicotine into vapour to be inhaled, avoiding the harm caused by tobacco smoke. But the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) decided they must be regulated to make them "safer and more effective." Its research found nicotine levels delivered often differed from the amount stated on the label and varied from batch to batch. Other studies have suggested that some e-cigarettes contain potentially harmful contaminants, the MHRA said, and there were anecdotal reports of a user suffering facial burns after one exploded. Although using e-cigarettes is safer than smoking tobacco "the long-term safety of these components to the consumer remains unknown," it said. Anti-smoking campaigners say regulation will also ensure the marketing of e-cigarettes does not target children and non-smokers. However, surveys suggest that non-smokers rarely try them and there is no evidence they encourage children to smoke. Norway, Singapore and Brazil are among countries to have banned e-cigarettes, while other nations allow them to be sold only in pharmacies. Jeremy Mean of the MHRA said delaying regulation until 2016 will give manufacturers time to apply for licences and the move was not about banning products that some find useful, but ensuring smokers have an alternative. He said licensing is unlikely to deter the £100million trade. Makers claim e-cigarettes already meet consumer standards. Skycig commercial manager Damien Scott said: "Medical regulation which could restrict access to these lifestyle products is entirely unjustified, particularly given the possibility of these smoking alternatives to potentially save millions of lives."