A national newspaper has revealed that Milton Keynes NHS is one of just 16 local areas in the UK who refuse free IVF treatment to couples if they are users of either e-cigarettes or nicotine patches.
The report in The Sun on Sunday says that the other 15 NHS groups who have taken the measure are all ten Greater Manchester NHS groups as well as NHS Crawley, NHS Horsham and Mid-Sussex, NHS Ipswich and East Sussex, NHS West Suffolk and NHS Nene in Northamptonshire.
Meanwhile, 101 other local NHS groups across the UK have said they have no such policy in place, making Milton Keynes one of the outliers in the country for the policy.
Some officials say that 'no amount of nicotine' is safe during a pregnancy, but others are saying this is simply a cost-cutting measure by the 16 groups.
Aileen Feeney, of charity Fertility Network, said: “This is another example of how health bosses are trying to ration NHS fertility services by introducing arbitrary access criteria.”
Evidence of the negative effects of 'vaping' during pregnancy are highly disputed between health officials.
