Nicotine patches 'should be free'

Nicotine patches should be free, say experts

All treatments which help smokers quit the habit should be available free of charge on the NHS, says the Health Development Agency.

At present, nicotine replacement patches are available on the NHS - but only if you live in one of the more deprived areas designated as a Health Action Zone by the government.

The latest guidelines, to be circulated to GPs and chest specialists, say that both the cigarette withdrawal drug Zyban, and the patches, should not be restricted.

They also call for at least one or two smoking cessation clinics in every health authority area.

Anti-smoking therapy Zyban

And more should be done to encourage pregnant smokers to kick the habit, with hospitals becoming completely smoke free zones, if they are not already.

But doctors should drop the nagging approach to getting their patients to quit smoking - although they should take the opportunity to recommend it at least once a year through routine consultations.

The government has already said that it will fund the use of Zyban on the NHS, at a cost of more than £40 per patient per month.

In clinical trials, the drug appears to work even better than nicotine patches in helping smokers quit.

Smoking is addictive because of the effects of nicotine on the brain, although it is the smoke, rather than the nicotine, which causes most long-term damage to the body.

The patches work by introducing a controlled amount of nicotine into the body, which can be gradually reduced over time as the craving diminishes.

Smoking target

Reducing smoking is one of the government's key NHS targets as part of its "Our Healthier Nation" strategy.

The habit is a key contributor to both high rates of cancer and coronary heart disease in the UK among both men and women.

Dr John Harvey, of the British Thoracic Society, which represents chest physicians in the UK, said: "Some stop smoking therapies are effective in helping smokers kick the habit.

"However, GPs and patients must be aware that they are not a magic cure.

"There is more to giving up smoking than writing a prescription and health professionals play a crucial role in advising their patients.

"Indeed, encouraging them to stop smoking must become like second nature - their support can save thousands of lives."

A spokesman for the Department of Health said that the National Institute for Clinical Excellence had been asked to report on how nicotine replacement therapy should be made available on the NHS.

That report is expected next year.

At this year's BMA Annual Conference, delegates voted that patients should have to pay for their own nicotine replacement patches, claiming that the money saved from stopping smoking would pay for the treatment.