Business owners are being encouraged to let employees vape in the office as a way to encourage smokers to quit and help reduce smoking rates.
Ministers have said their target is to cut the number of adults who smoke by one in eight within the next five years.
As part of a new tobacco control plan, health ministers will promote e-cigarettes as a safe alternative to traditional cigarettes.
Employees are reminded that e-cigarette use in the office is permitted and that it is up to business owners to decide whether they allow employees to vape.
The proposal states: E-cigarettes are not included in anti-tobacco policies and should not be included in businesses' anti-smoking policies.
And PHE advice also says staff should not ban vaping - although they should consider that vaping smoke is quite thick and can be a nuisance.
According to PHE guidance: Evidence from previous studies has shown that the health effects on third parties of vaping are very low.
“Evidence on the effects of secondhand smoke is not sufficient to ban the use of e-cigarettes.”
“Other reasons to ban e-cigarettes in public places besides the impact on others might be advertising and decency considerations.”
Ministers also want to cut the rate of 15-year-olds smoking from eight per cent to three per cent.
ASH staff predict the UK will be smoke-free by 2030.
Public Health Secretary Steve Brine said: “England is a world leader in tobacco control and our action over the past decade has helped reduce smoking rates in England to unprecedented levels.”
“But our goal is a smoke-free generation.”
“Smoking still kills hundreds of people every day in the UK, and we know the harm is greatest on the poorest and most vulnerable in society.”
“That is why we aim to educate people about the dangers of tobacco and help them quit. The plan’s goal is to reduce the adult smoking rate to below 12 percent by 2022.”
The number of under-15s who smoke should also fall to 3 percent or more during that time.
Ministers also want to reduce the number of pregnant women smoking to 6 per cent or less by 2022.
The government said it wanted to set a clear target for a smoke-free generation as it unveiled its plans for the UK.
Source: thesun.co.uk
Translator: The Vape Club