NORTH-WEST Euro-MP Chris Davies said he was delighted the battle to stop the sale of electronic cigarettes being restricted as pharmaceutical products had been won.

The decisions by the European Parliament and Commission will be a huge relief to three firms employing 180 people in East Lancashire.

Thousands of the area’s 65,000 smokers are among 1.3 million UK people who use the battery-powered alternative to real cigarettes.

Brussels regulation of E-cigs as medicines was proposed in June. Companies Totally Wicked (of Blackburn and Altham which sponsors Burnley FC’s Bob Lord Stand), Liberty Flights of Darwen, and CN Creative (which expanded from Accrington into premises in Phoenix Park, Blackburn) pledged to fight the move.

Liberal Democrat Mr Davies hailed news that governments must now propose special justifications to treat electronic cigarettes differently.

He said: “We have seen a massive turnaround that is very much to be welcomed.”