The UK has given the go ahead for doctors to prescribe a brand of e-cigarette as a smoking cessation aid.

But the Royal College of General Practitioners has warned that GPs might be inundated with requests for the device called e-Voke, which is made by British American Tobacco.

Dr Tim Ballard Vice Chair of the RCGP told the BBC said it was unreasonable for the NHS to be asked to fund lifestyle choices for people.

“Potentially, there may be a place for the prescription of e-Voke as part of a smoking cessation programme, but GPs would be very wary of prescribing them until there was clear evidence of their safety and of their efficacy in helping people to quit,” he said in an interview.

“At the moment there isn’t the evidence and the guidance hasn’t been written to help GPs make those decisions.”