SINCE a constituent told me how e-cigs (electronic cigarettes) had helped him break his addiction to smoking tobacco, I have tried to ensure that e-cigs are as available as the conventional cigarettes that cause so much harm to health.

Yet because of their nicotine content, the European Commission and most national governments, including our own, have wanted e-cigs classified as pharmaceuticals, increasing their costs and potentially restricting their availability.

I am pleased to say that the European Parliament has succeeded in overturning these plans.

On December 16, proposals for EU-wide mandatory medicinal regulation were seen off by MEPs.

Instead, e-cigs can be sold in future with nicotine concentrations of up to 20mg per ml, in units of up to 2ml, with a wide range of flavourings, and with refillable cartridges (subject to a later review).

Some e-cig users may argue that there should be no restrictions at all, but most governments did not share this view. Some have even banned e-cigs entirely.

The deal that MEPs have negotiated means that there is now an EU regulatory framework for the whole of Europe.

We have succeeded in persuading them to agree to alternative plans that they would have rejected just three months ago. E-cigs will continue to be widely available.

Chris Davies Liberal Democrat MEP for the North West