Cuts in Quit Smoking Budgets in America. Increase in Australia.

Jan. 19, 2011 - PRLog -- The news came that programs including Quitline Iowa and JEL (Just Eliminate Lies) could see a total of $2.4 million cut from their budgets this fiscal year and $6.7 million the next two years.

Meanwhile a $340 million package recently unveiled by the Australian government a few weeks ago will have a part of the budget allocated to subsidize Nicotine patches and other anti-smoking drugs. This will funded by taxpayers.

Few of us would agree that this is a laudable initiative and that in the end it may be a profitable operation. Less unnecessary diseases treatments costs, less loss of productivity and cigarette breaks.

It would be best to make sure that it works for taxpayers to feel their money was used wisely.

So, where is the problem then? The questions that needs to be asked is in regards to governments sometimes tending to favour the patches and pills type of solutions. Why picking a very small cross section of all available help? Why do smokers not have the choice? Why only major corporations from the medical and pharmaceutical industries with the most marketing coverage and power get to benefit? And is it what provides the best success rates ?

If you go to some of the local government quit sites you may be tempted to think that patches and pills are a better way to go. It says in deed on some of them that other methods are not proven. When you search more, you may find many people and widely available figures from various sources that seem to have different opinions.

This is not yet another conspiracy theory, and we are not trying to say that there are evil intentions. There are various reasons that contributed to this restricted choice, however this is not today’s topic. The idea is to just open things up for the benefit of all. The system is the way it is, and blaming will not help to make the necessary breakthroughs.
 
For instance a study indicates that patches showed a 7% success rate*. Some sites say that it doubles the chances of success to use patches. They should show the actual figures so people have a clearer view and base their decisions on easier to read and interpret facts. A list of all methods available, with a large unbiased survey of success rate at 12 months, would be a start for people to get a full picture. Luckily some of the official sites are at least starting to mention of couple of the other methods.  

Quit Smoking Expert Fabrice BEILLARD, owner and founder of www.quitcigarette.org says that some patients, before coming to his practice, were wearing the patch and removing it to smoke. If nicotine is the only problem why do they still want to smoke with a patch then? Obviously nicotine is not the only and main problem and the government should make more research about what other/complementary options are available, and understand the crucial importance of varied sources of knowledge and expertise to break the habit.  

Now let s talk about quit smoking prescriptions drugs more generally. The website “Fair warning” reports that for the quit smoking prescription Chantix as at mid-2009,  the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had received reports of nearly 100 suicides, 200 attempted suicides and close to 5,000 serious psychiatric events overall. And reports of side effects have apparently continued to stream in 2010. Again it is always hard to verify figures and they can be made to say whatever it is we want, but it seems that side effects can be serious, but to be fair, this is also highlighted on some of the sites. Are there safer methods ?

The initial intentions are probably good, but the Taxpayers’ money could potentially have better results with more focus on other elements of the habit. Let s hope that smokers will be given a fairer chance at their attempts with governments either giving them choice to use what works better for them, or making the programs more complete. This should help improve transparency and accountability. This could help make the initiatives useful and successful. Is it not what we all want: government, industry, smokers and taxpayers?

Media Contact
Fabrice BEILLARD
1300661601 (Australia)
www.quitcigarette.org

High resolution images and interviews available on request.

*Shiffman (et al) published in the May, 2002, edition of Addiction, at pages 505 to 516. 2,367 OTC nicotine patch users and 2,981 OTC nicotine gum users. It also telephoned 269 Rx nicotine patch users and 155 Rx nicotine gum users six months after having had their prescription filled to see if they’d quit.

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