“Can you help me?” Matt Cardy/Getty

It’s an unprecedented turnaround. E-cigarettes, once painted as a new and sinister health risk, are now being promoted as a public health lifeline – in the UK, at least. Yet if we want to make the most of their potential, healthcare staff need to put aside their preconceptions and embrace them more enthusiastically.

The rationale for vaping is clear. Regular tobacco smoking is one of the biggest lifestyle contributors to death and disease worldwide, causing heart disease, strokes and a long list of cancers. While the flavourings in e-cigarettes could in theory harm the …