VAPES containing medicines are faster acting than pills and could be the future of prescriptions, inventors say.
Scientists are developing gadgets which could vaporise the drugs used to treat common ailments.
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They reckon painkillers, antidepressants and migraine treatments could be inhaled, as well as drugs for lung conditions such as asthma and COPD.
It would make drugs kick in faster and help patients stick to doses by electronically restricting them to only a few puffs a day.
Dr Federico Buonocore, from Kingston University, South West London, said: “This technology is very promising.
“The devices would fit in your pocket and be easy to use without any training.
“This would help patients stick to their medication so we can reduce hospitalisations and save the NHS money.”
Dr Buonocore published a study last year showing e-cig technology would work with asthma drug salbutamol.
And US manufacturer Qnovia hopes to get its RespiRx nicotine replacement device approved for prescription in the UK in 2026, to help smokers quit.
Boss Brian Quigley said: “One of the biggest benefits is speed of delivery to the bloodstream.
“Injection is the fastest and then inhalation comes next, before pills or skin patches.
“This could work in areas where you need immediate relief.”
E-cig rate at highest
THE proportion of Britons who vape has soared to its highest level, figures show.
One in nine — nearly twice as many as three years ago — use e-cigs.
It suggests 5.6 million people, the highest figure yet recorded, are vapers.
Most are former tobacco smokers, many using them to quit. But they are tending to use e-cigs for longer.
More than half have done so for at least three years, the research for Action on Smoking and Health reveals.
Ash welcomed the shift from tobacco but still wants tougher regulation to stop kids taking up e-cigarettes as “they are not risk-free”.