[Margaret Pilkington]

Illnesses caused by smoking cost the national health service a lot of money.
That is not the only cost which needs to be considered, there is the cost to,the nation of lost working days, there is the cost to families too when someone in the family suffers from an illness caused by smoking.
I have been retired from the NHS for thirteen years now.....when I was working there were prescriptions being given for Nicotine Replacement Therapy.....they were unpalatable and did not work very well.....so what is the difference?( and they were expensive too at that time)
The long term costs of not helping those who are ruining their lives(and maybe the lives of their children) outweigh the costs of not doing so.
Do you feel so strongly about drug addicts being given methadone to help them quit their drug habit....or the alcoholics who get an extra allowance to feed their habits.
Maybe we should look at those who take NHS treatment without paying for it....or those who pay nothing in. But use the services.
This topic has been given some coverage in the benefits thread.
Getting smokers to quit is not an easy task, this is just another tool in the arsenal that may prove more effective in limiting long term health problems caused by smoking.