The watchdog says vaping is at least ‘95% less harmful than smoking’

The government’s health watchdog has hired a public relations agency used by the world’s biggest e-cigarette manufacturer for a new year campaign to promote vaping.

Public Health England (PHE) will launch the campaign to encourage the use of e-cigarettes as part of a strategy to reduce smoking. It says vaping is “at least 95% less harmful than smoking”.

This weekend it faced criticism over the campaign after it emerged the public relations agency Freuds will be used by PHE. It was given a £500,000, two-year contract to run PHE’s marketing at the start of the year. Freuds also works for Juul, the largest e-cigarette manufacturer, now part-owned by the maker of Marlboro cigarettes.

Bob Blackman, the Conservative MP who chairs the parliamentary group on smoking