A CROSS-party committee of Assembly Members has been unable to agree about whether a Welsh Government proposal to ban the use of e-cigarettes in enclosed public spaces is a good or a bad idea.

The Assembly's health and social care committee has considered the scope of the Public Health (Wales) Bill and its differing proposals, which would also affect tattooing, piercings, pharmacies, and public toilets.

The Bill's flagship - and most controversial - measure however, relates to restricting the use of e-cigarettes in public, and the views of committee members reflect the polarised opinion among the general public and health experts.

"Some members believe that the approach is appropriate given the concerns expressed by some witnesses about the longer term public health impact of e-cigarette use, including whether their use could re-normalise or act as a gateway to tobacco smoking, or cause difficulties in enforcing smoke-free legislation," states the report.

Others however, believe that the benefit of e-cigarettes as an aid of giving up smoking outweighs the concerns about a potential future risk of harm, given the lack of scientific evidence to substantiate such concerns.

"They believe that the proposed restriction could potentially prevent smokers from replacing an activity that is known to cause great harm with one which current evidence demonstrates is significantly less harmful," states the report.

Such division of opinion is likely to be a feature of this aspect of the Bill's journey along the road to becoming law, and the committee's lack of consensus hardly helps the cause of the advocates of a ban.

The differing views were put to the committee during its evidence gathering phase on the Bill's proposals earlier this year, from bodies such as Public Health Wales, The British Medical Association, and the charity Cancer Research UK.

On proposals such as a licensing scheme for tattoo, piercing, acupuncture and electrolysis businesses however, and a ban on intimate piercings for under 16s, the committee agreed with the Bill’s proposals.

The committee has also asked health minister Mark Drakeford to explore the feasibility of amending the Bill to place a duty on health boards to maintain a record of anyone who requires treatment as a result of undergoing a special procedure, as defined in the Bill, carried out by such businesses, and to notify councils authorities when such an event occurs, the aim being to enable speedy checks to be carried out, followed by action if necessary.

Changes to the way pharmaceutical services are planned to meet the needs of local communities, and a proposed requirement for councils to provide adequate access to public toilets, were also broadly welcomed.

The Public Health (Wales) Bill is scheduled to be debated by AMs in the Senedd on Tuesday December 8.