Vaping should be allowed in offices and enclosed public spaces in order to “maximise” access to safer alternatives to smoking, a Government plan says.

Announcing a vision to create a “smokefree generation,” ministers set new targets to cut smoking rates by one quarter in adults - and to stamp out the habit among younger generations.

The Tobacco Control Plan pledges to “maximise the availability of safer alternatives to smoking” and to support smokers turning to nicotine substitutes.

In particular, it reminds employers that e-cigarette use is not covered by smokefree legislation - so should not be included in policies which ban smoking.

“The evidence is increasingly clear that e-cigarettes are significantly less harmful to health than smoking tobacco,” the plan notes. “The government will seek to support consumers in stopping smoking and adopting the use of less harmful nicotine products.”

The Department of Health also pledged to monitor evidence about the safety of nicotine delivery products, to be published on an annual basis, with messages about the relative safety of e-cigarettes included in stop-smoking campaigns.