SIR – There are perhaps as many as 10,000 people in the Bradford district using electronic cigarettes. For many of these people this will be a successful route to quitting smoking. There is no doubt that the ready availability of e-cigs is a huge public health benefit that could see millions of lives saved.

Unless, of course, the EU gets its way. Late last week, the European Commission circulated a confidential new proposal for regulating e-cigarettes. The document was sent only to those negotiating the future of e-cigarettes behind closed doors in Brussels – representatives of the European Parliament and European Council.

Clive Bates, former chief executive of ASH (the anti-smoking charity), describes the impact of this new proposal, saying that “if implemented, this proposal bans every product on the market today and would severely limit options for future products – and may make it commercially unviable to develop in future”.

If you’re one of those people using the lifeline of e-cigs to help you quit, you need to tell your MEPs to oppose this new regulation before it stops others from using a product that could save them from ill-health, even death.

Coun Simon Cooke, Hallowes Park Road, Cullingworth