Electronic cigarettes in mental health settings - solving a conundrum?

Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), have recently been the focus of much attention and debate. This article attempts to highlight their relevance and potential importance for mental health settings, with a focus on in-patient units. To do so, the complexities involved in smoking among people with mental disorder, the debate surrounding e-cigarettes, and their potential to be utilised as a smoking cessation or temporary abstinence aid in the context of smoke-free policies and new National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance for smoking cessation in mental health settings, will be discussed and synthesised below.