Council cutting quitting service

Help for people who want to quit smoking is set to be rationed by council chiefs at York, England, in the wake of government public health funding cuts, according to a York Press story.

A City of York Council report recommends that only pregnant women and financially disadvantaged people should in future be given free nicotine replacement therapy (NRT).

Until March, all patients accessing stop smoking services were given NRT free of charge as part of a universal offer, but health improvement manager Philippa Press said the offer should now be targeted to ensure the maximum benefit by focusing on those with the highest need.

‘The review of the service has been undertaken against a background of increasing financial constraints with cuts to the local authority Public Health Grant Allocation imposed by the Department of Health,’ she said in the report.

‘In City of York, the cuts to the public health budget already made in 2015/16 and 2016/17 amount to £1.2 million.’

She recommends NRT should be provided free of charge for 12 weeks to pregnant women receiving stop smoking support services and for two weeks to financially disadvantaged people. She says this would provide interim support, with the expectation these people would subsequently fund NRT themselves.

The total cost to the council of providing the NRT would be £17,988.

‘The risks of smoking during pregnancy are very serious and include premature delivery to low birth weight, miscarriage, still birth and sudden infant death,’ she said.

‘Quitting smoking is the best thing a pregnant woman can do for herself and her baby.’

Press said the council gave other help, such as advice, information and guidance to support smokers in quitting smoking.

And it had signed up to ‘Breathe 2025’, a campaign aimed at inspiring a smoke free generation.