Quitting smoking in the new year?

You’ll soon be able to get e-cigarettes on the NHS – but ssshhhhhhh, don’t spread it it around.

The government wants to keep it on the DL so that doctors aren’t overrun by raging nicotine addicts.

Last month the NHS licensed e-Voke, which means doctors will be able to offer it on prescription.

But a Whitehall source said they ‘didn’t want to make a song and dance about it because GPs would be overrun by people demanding it,’ the Sunday People reported.

Public health minister Jane Ellison bigged up e-cigarettes when Labour MP Steve McCabe asked her about it directly.

She told him: ‘The Government believes vaping is ­significantly less harmful than smoking. We encourage ­medicinal license applications.’

The move is likely to cost the NHS £20 per kit and £10 a week for each patient’s cartridges, saving money in the longterm as e-cigarettes are much less harmful.

As people currently pay £8.20 for a prescription in England, they could make a saving as vaping starter kits often come in at around £20.