NHS stop-smoking services success rate increased
The number of people who have quit smoking with the help of NHS stop-smoking services has increased by almost 50 per cent in one year, according to provisional Government figures.
From April to December 2004, 170,600 people who had set a date to stop
smoking using NHS services were still not smoking at a four-week follow-up,
which is a 47 per cent increase on the same period in 2003, the figures
show.
Nicotine replacement therapy alone was used by 79 per cent of people
using the
service, 7 per cent used only bupropion (Zyban) and 1 per cent used both
NRT and bupropion. The total cost of these items
prescribed in GP practices and dispensed
in the community during this period was over £30m.
The figures also show that success with quitting smoking increases with
age. Miriam Armstrong, chief executive of Pharmacy-HealthLink, said that
pharmacists are clearly playing a significant role in achieving this
success rate. She commented: “What was a surprise was the high
proportion of people aged 60 years and over who successfully quit at
four weeks. Since this group are both high users of pharmacies and are
the most reliable group to follow up at four weeks, it would make sense
for pharmacists who are providing specialist NHS stop-smoking support
to target them in their promotional activities and thus further increase
the likelihood of achieving primary care trust targets.”
The figures show that the cost of the stop-smoking services during this
period, excluding the cost of NRT or bupropion on prescription, was £32.3m. |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal
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