By the BBC's Nigel Cassidy

Come the spring, tens of thousands of smokers on low incomes will qualify for a week's supply of free nicotine replacement gum or patches -- courtesy of the National Health Service.

It is part of the latest drive to improve the nation's health and relieve the pressure on our hospitals. It will also be a boost to Britain's fast-growing, £40m market for so called 'smoking cessation products'.

While it may be the smoke, the tar and the carbon monoxide that kills one in five UK adult smokers before their time - it is the nicotine that gets you hooked. Nicotine, a toxic drug, is described by the US surgeon-general as more addictive than crack cocaine.

Stick-on relief from cravings

Small wonder that nicotine replacement products are catching on fast. You will find them advertised at airports or at tube or Metro stations -- just about anywhere where smokers are desperate for a drag, but aren't allowed to light up.

Smoking cessation products can be chewed, inhaled, put under the tongue or stuck on your skin like a sticking plaster. You take them for around three months.

The idea is that they deliver gradually reducing doses of nicotine to your bloodstream which deal with the cravings, leaving you to cope with the ritual and psychological after effects of giving up the evil weed.

Some research suggests people who sincerely want to give up may up to double their chances of success by using the products. But they tend not to work if you are on your own. You really do need support from a trained counsellor to help you through.

Swedish navy's nicotine tip

The history of nicotine replacement products is worth telling. It is all thanks to the Swedish Royal Navy. Smoking was banned on board its submarines. The crews were becoming short-tempered at sea -- and ordering them to calm down just wasn't working.

Then a scientist noticed that some of the crew members solved the problem by chewing tobacco. He told a friend of his, Ove Ferno, head of research at what is now the drugs company Pharmacia and Upjohn.

It was Ferno who worked tirelessly in the face of professional opposition to develop a chewing gum which gradually released controlled quantities of nicotine to help people wean themselves off cigarettes.

It was one of the first of what have become known as 'lifestyle' drugs.

The latest fashion accessory?

But business design specialist Stephen Bayley is convinced smoking cessation products still need to come out of the closet. He suggests the makers need to market them more boldly -- maybe making them look more like tattoos or by putting glitter on them.

It is an idea unlikely to be taken up by drug companies like Novartis, SmithKline Beecham and Novartis who make the products.

That is because every drug item they make and sell has to be licensed and strictly controlled. Its in marked contrast to cigarettes, which do far more harm but are still freely available on every street corner.

Drug companies look to the future

Certainly, stopping smoking with a commercial product is not cheap. While you might not be buying your usual cigarettes, the actual cost of the product is equivalent to smoking around 20 cigarettes a day.

But drug companies feel they have got the pricing right. They believe people will see it as a small price to pay for successfully giving up cigarettes for good.

And as the tobacco companies concentrate their sales drive on the Far East and China, new ready markets will open up for the pharmaceutical giants. Soon they will be able to offer their smoking cessation products to all those new smokers, once they are hooked.