(Paying for nicotine replacement therapy is cheaper than smoking 20 cigarettes a day)
A course of nicotine replacement therapy patches would be cheaper than smoking 20 cigarettes a day and therefore claims that such therapies are prohibitively expensive are unfounded, writes Dr Robert Bunney in this week's BMJ. A general practitioner from Barnstaple in Devon, Dr Bunney calculates that a typical eight week course of patches, purchased from a pharmacy would cost £17 per week, saving smokers of 20 cigarettes a day around £20 a week through not smoking. The author says that before yet more pressure is added to the NHS prescribing budget, it should be borne in mind that heavy smokers actually save money while paying for their nicotine replacement therapy.
Contact:
Dr Robert Bunney, General Practitioner, Brannam Medical Centre, Barnstaple, Devon rbunney@enterprise.net