National Health Service

The National Health Service (NHS) in UK spends millions of Euros to encourage smokers to quit the habit. Sadly, fewer smokers are quitting and the number of people trying to give up or stop altogether has halved.

And even though the money gone to the National Health Service Stop Smoking campaign has gone up from £51million in 2006/07 to £84million last year. Less than a 5% of smokers are trying to give up making use of the NHS’s services, which includes:

● Weekly support meetings
● Free supply of gum and nicotine patches
● A helpline.

National Health Service Stop Smoking campaign launched in 2001, with more than half a billion on the campaign and the amount has steadily increased every year. Both critics and the figures show the NHS Stop Smoking campaign was ineffective. Research shows that just 17 % of smokers have tried to quit at some point over the past three months, compared to 32 per cent over the same period in 2007.

Fiona McEvoy, of the Taxpayers’ Alliance said:
“It’s shocking that the millions sunk into this scheme have failed to make any significant impact”
“This is money that could’ve been used for medicine and operations.”

Campaigners point out that the money could be better spent on life-saving treatments, that the NHS Stop Smoking campaign was both costly and unpopular. Why not use that Stop Smoking campaign money more effectively?

The Nicotine Reduction Therapy like patches, gum, lozenges, etc. only have a success rate of 7% at 6 months, 5% at one year, and 2% twenty months out. Switching to Swedish Snus has success rates ranging from 55% to 90%, and switching to an electronic cigarette has success rates between 63% and 80%.

National Health Service should tell the truth about smokeless tobacco products such as snus, electronic cigarette and disposables. With these alternatives, smokers can reduce their health risks by up to 99% by switching to one of these products.