UK Moves to License e-cigarettes and vaporizers

RNS Number : 5960U

Kanabo Group PLC

06 December 2021

 

Kanabo Group Plc

("Kanabo" or the "Company")

UK Moves to License e-cigarettes and vaporizers

Kanabo Group Plc (LSE:KNB), a medical cannabis and R&D Company that focuses on the distribution of cannabis-derived products for medical patients and wellness CBD consumers, welcomes news that the UK could be the first country in the World to prescribe medicinally licensed  e-cigarettes and Vaporizers

New UK Guidelines

The U.K government agency, Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency ("MHRA") has announced that the UK's National Health Service ("NHS") could soon prescribe e-cigarettes to help patients stop smoking tobacco products.

To achieve a licence, products would need to meet the standards of quality, safety, and efficacy expected of medicinal products. If successful, this would potentially allow safe and effective products to be made available for prescription, for tobacco smokers who wish to quit or reduce smoking.

The updated guidance provides further details on the steps required to license an e-cigarette as a medicinal product and has invited e-cigarette manufacturers to submit products to undergo the same approval process as prescribed medicines. This could make the UK the first country to prescribe medicinally licensed e-cigarettes.

If a product receives MHRA approval, clinicians could then decide on a case-by-case basis whether it would be appropriate to prescribe an e-cigarette to NHS patients to help them quit smoking.

Dr June Raine, Chief Executive of the MHRA, said: " The evidence is clear that e-cigarettes are less harmful to health than smoking tobacco and that nicotine-containing e-cigarettes can help people quit smoking for good. The updated guidance on licensing requirements we have published today is a strong first step towards availability of safe and effective licensed e-cigarette products.

The MHRA will continue to support companies in the development of safe and effective e-cigarette products, to encourage the licensing of e-cigarette products as medicines in order to support patient-centred care and access."

The UK's Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said: "This country continues to be a global leader on healthcare, whether it's our COVID-19 vaccine roll-out saving lives or our innovative public health measures reducing people's risk of serious illness.

Opening the door to a licensed e-cigarette prescribed on the NHS has the potential to tackle the stark disparities in smoking rates across the country, helping people stop smoking wherever they live and whatever their background."

Avihu Tamir, CEO of Kanabo Group said, "Any research that helps patients has to be welcomed. Kanabo started its commercial life by addressing the issue of developing a device to deliver a reliable and repeatable metered dose of medicinal cannabis to help patients combat their ailments.  The Company's proprietary VapePod is now a class-leading medical device available in the UK. As the UK's regulatory framework outlines a higher entry barrier for the industry, the global vaping industry will witness a more standardised and concentrated market where industry leaders, such as Kanabo, will further strengthen their leading positions. Meanwhile, the whole industry, the supply chain and patients will benefit from such a well-regulated and standardised market in turn."

For further information, please visit http://www.kanabogroup.com/ or contact the following:

Kanabo Group Plc
Avihu Tamir, CEO	Via Vox Markets
Peterhouse Capital Ltd
Eran Zucker (Financial Adviser)	Tel: [phone]
Lucy Williams / Charles Goodfellow (Corporate Broker)	Tel: [phone]
Vox Markets (Investor Relations)
Kat Perez	[e-mail]

About Kanabo Group Plc

Kanabo Group Plc is an R&D company currently selling a range of wellness CBD Products in the Primary Markets and Medical Cannabis Products. The company's core strategy is to increase revenues from the sale of its Retail CBD Products in the wellness sector and to grow the Kanabo brand through its marketing initiatives.

 

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