ASH, 102 Clifton Street, London EC2A 4HW Tel: 0207 739 5902
Fax: 0207 613 0531


ASH Daily News

22 November 2000

Headlines
'Nicotine patches should be free'
'Smoking leads to art attack'
'Smoking linked with mental illness'

Full Text

'Nicotine patches should be free'

BBC News Online reports, '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, published in
the medical journal Thorax, 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. 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.'

However, the article adds, '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.'


Source: BBC Online, 21 November 2000, Daily Mail, Times, 22 November 2000
Links: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health/newsid_1032000/1032752.stm
http://www.ash.org.uk/html/cessation/guidelinesupdate.pdf



'Smoking leads to art attack'

The Evening Standard reports, 'The World Health Organisation is fighting
seductive tobacco advertising by launching an anti-smoking campaign
featuring posters by cutting-edge European artists.' The display will run in
the Whitechapel Gallery, London between the 22-24 November.

Further details can be seen at http://www.who.dk/Welcome.htm or:
http://www.whitechapel.org/1enter/news-WHOevent.html

Source: Evening Standard 21 November 2000, Time Out, 22 November 2000

'Smoking linked with mental illness'

The Financial Times reports that, 'Mentally ill people smoke nearly 45 per
cent of the cigarettes sold in the US, a Harvard Medical School report says.
'

Source: Financial Times, BBC News Online, 22 November 2000
Link:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/americas/newsid_1034000/1034671.stm
Karl Brookes
Action on Smoking and Health
102 Clifton Street
London
EC2A 4HW
Tel: 00 44 207 395902
Fax: 00 44 207 613 0531
http://www.ash.org.uk/smuggling/