Public opinion is divided over whether the HSE was right to ban e-cigarettes from hospitals and other health facilities, according to our latest readers' poll.

The health executive enforced a ban electronic cigarettes in all health service facilities on May 1.

It said as the organisation responsible for health promotion and improvement, health protection and the prevention of illnesses and disease, it had decided to impose the ban.

The HSE said the e-cigarettes ban 'followed a detailed review of their safety' and the impact of e-cigarettes on its smoke-free campus policy.

We asked our readers whether they thought the HSE was right to ban e-cigarettes from its facilities.

One-in-two (49%) said yes, while 27% said no and 24% were not sure.

E-cigarettes, which are battery-powered devices designed to supply nicotine through inhaled water vapour, have also been prohibited in trains and buses in Ireland.

There is currently considerable public debate over whether e-cigarettes, which are smoke-free, are potentially harmful to health and on whether they can assist people give up tobacco smoking.

The HSE says it can only recommend safe and effective products and strategies for quitting smoking, 'and there currently is no conclusive evidence that e-cigarettes are safe for long-term use, or are effective as a smoking cessation aid'.

It said it would be keeping under review the emerging evidence about whether e-cigarettes posed a threat to health and whether they aided smoking cessation.

View the poll results and comments, and results of previous polls here

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