Junior health minister Paul Blokhuis is drawing up rules to cover the use of electronic cigarettes which heat tobacco but don’t make smoke.

There are currently no restrictions on the use of inhalers such as the Philip Morris IQOS because they don’t fall under the current tobacco laws.

The minister is planning to change this, which would mean the inhalers would be subject to an age limit, a ban on advertising and new packaging.

‘These sorts of products are treated as a clever alternative to ordinary cigarettes,’ Blokhuis told MPs in a briefing. But users are still inhaling cancer-causing ingredients and other dangerous substances, the minister said.

The minister said he plans to take action against the inhalers because he does not want people to get the idea using them is a sensible option. ‘The only sensible option is not smoking,’ he said.