Health and Safety Executive (HSE)

The HSE is the enforcement authority in Great Britain. The following are HSE's recommended practices and standards:

Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for regulating all medicines and medical devices in the UK by ensuring they work and are acceptably safe. The following is MHRA's recommended practice:

MHRA DB2008(03) April 2008

 Recommends that smoke evacuation systems are to be used during laser surgery. In addition, it is specified that masks and operating room laminar flow systems are not suitable for protection from surgical smoke.

Association for Perioperative Practice (AfPP) works to encourage the exchange of professional information between members and co-operation with other professional bodies. They are not a regulatory agency but a recommending agency. The following is AfPP's standard:

BMLA

Standard 2.6 Lasers - Standards and Recommendations for Safe Perioperative Practice

The standard states that 'Dedicated smoke evacuation machines must be used to remove the smoke' (AfPP 2007).