The Pharmaceutical Journal,
December 09, 2000

Back issues

Comment

An Onlooker's Notebook   842

• Tricky situation
• Opioid depenence
• Mug's game

Leading Articles   843

• End of a Whitehall farce
• Expanding Smoking cessation services

News   844-846

• Department appoints chief pharmacist after 21 month interregnum 844
• Seven on ETP shortlist 844
• Guild negotiators reject inflation-linked pay offer 844
• Meningitis and Viagra share Prix Galien 844
• No easy answers on generics — OXERA 845
• More GSL proposals 845
• New prescribing legislation proposed 845
• Pharmacists to reduce GP workload 845
• Rural White Paper promises post office health care 846
• BPSA preregistration recruitment complaint 846
• Neema project moves forward 846
• TV for pharmacists 846

Clinical Pharmacy   847-850

• No evidence that atypical antipsychotics are more effective than conventional drugs? 847
• Another label change for Melleril syrup 847
• Potential dosing errors for alfacalcidol 847
• Glatiramer launched for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis   848
• Public attitudes to antibiotic therapy    848
• Rethink on resistance 848
• Skin test to measure cholesterol levels 848
• Leukaemia drug targets chromosomal abnormality 849
• Postnatal trigger critical for childhood leukaemia, say researchers 849
• Multimedia smoking cessation pilot achieves "encouraging" results 850
• Effects of delivery device on inhaled steroid dose   850

The Society

• Patient group directions and the law   (J. Raffaitin) 851-852
• Six pharmacists designated as fellows 853
• Scottish Department's free conference for pharmacists working with LHHCs 853

Broad Spectrum   854

• What future roles for pharmacy technicians? 854

Letters to the Editor   855-857

• The society
  • Some changes are inevitable 855
• Pharmaceutical care
  • Core criterion 855
• Packaging
  • A non-dogmatic approach, please 856
  • Risk management approach required 856
• RPM
  • Mistaken suggestion 856
• Community pharmacy
  • Almost impossible to find managers 856-857
• Remuneration
  • How much longer? 857
• CPD
  • Demonstrating the Council's commitment? 857

News Feature   858-859

• A pharmacist's role in smoking cessation (C. Bellingham) 858-859

Articles   860-865

• The impact of amfebutamone (bupropion) on National Health Service smoking cessation services (A. McNeill and M. Armstrong) 860-862
• The use of nicotine replacement therapy in pregnancy (P. R McElhatton et al) 863-865

Products   866

Front Cover Picture

Our front cover picture of a pregnant smoker (Adam Hart-Davis/SPL) ties in with an article this week which discusses the effects of smoking, nicotine and nicotine replacement therapy in pregnant women (p863).

New chief pharmacist

The Department of Health has appointed Dr Jim Smith as full-time chief pharmaceutical officer (p844).

Multiple sclerosis drug

Glatiramer, a new treatment option for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis was launched by Teva as Copaxone on December 4 (p848).

Patient group directions

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s Professional Standards Directorate reviews the legal requirements relating to PGDs (p851).

Amfebutamone and smoking cessation

The impact of amfebutamone (bupropion) on National Health Service smoking cessation services is discussed in an article on pp860-861.

Pharmacists and smoking cessation

In the light of new smoking cessation guidelines announced in last week’s issue, this week we review the pharmacist’s role in helping smokers to quit (p858).