The World Health Organisation is recommending a ban on using e-cigarettes in public indoor spaces over second-hand smoke fears.

The UN health body also called for the sale of the electrical devices to minors to be banned, as well as warning they pose a "serious threat" to foetuses and youths.

It said e-cigarette solutions with fruit, sweet-like and alcohol-based flavours - which may appeal to children - should be banned.

The ban on indoors use should be put in place "until exhaled vapour is proven to be not harmful to bystanders," the group said.

The WHO also said e-cigarette makers should be prevented from making health claims - such as that they help people quit smoking - until they provide "convincing supporting scientific evidence and obtain regulatory approval".

The report also voices concerns about changing market dynamics as a result multinational tobacco companies entering the e-cigarette market. The report, which is available in full here, states "some of them are aggressively competing with the independent companies to gain market share. Given the economic power of the tobacco industry, recent moves to sue other companies alleging patent infringement may be an indicator of how difficult it will be for ENDS [electronic nicotine delivery systems] to remain a business niche dominated by independent companies".

The report also says the "smoke" from many e-cigarettes is not merely water vapour, as is often claimed, and action should be taken to cut levels of nicotine and other toxicants and the risk of bystanders inhaling them.

The report will be debated by UN member states at a meeting in Moscow in October.

E-cigarette controls

In May it was reported that a group of more than 50 leading scientists had written to the WHO calling on it to resist the urge to control and suppress the devices.

They said the technology is part of the solution to tackling smoking, not the problem. In their letter to WHO Director-General Margaret Chan, the group argued that tobacco harm reduction products could play a significant role in meeting the 2025 United Nations objectives to reduce non-communicable diseases.

Earlier this year the Health Service Executive banned the use of e-cigarettes in all health service facilities, and their use is no longer permitted in any HSE building or on any HSE 'Tobacco-Free' campus.

The majority of public hospitals now operate smoke-free campuses, as do many primary care and administrative facilities.

The HSE says the decision followed a detailed review of their safety and the impact of e-cigarettes on the smoke-free campus policy. It also said that there is currently "no conclusive evidence" that e-cigarettes are safe for long-term use, or are effective as an aid to quit smoking.

Originally published 10:48am