Prescribe E-Cigarettes For Smokers, Great Idea 🙁
According to the BBC today, doctors are recommending that e-cigarettes should be used on prescription as a method of smoking cessation. I have to say that I am most disappointed with this short sighted view of smoking cessation. E-cigarettes are a fairly new phenomena, in no way have the potential implications of long term use been investigated. Additionally, the Royal College of Physicians state “there is resounding evidence that e-cigarettes are “much safer” than smoking and aid quitting”. Very well, let’s see the research, NICE will never authorise the use of e-cigarettes without considerably more evidence.
It is also a disappointment as it would appear that the Royal College of Physicians are being selective as to their recommendations. There is very good published research which shows that hypnosis is a very effective way to help people to stop smoking. Yet on this subject the Royal College of Physicians are almost completely silent. With hypnosis a client is assisted to kick the habit in totality, rather than simply replacing tobacco with a habit which might end up costing either the smoker or the NHS as much financially as their original habit.
The time has come to take a hard look at smoking and stop looking at nicotine as being the end all be all. For most smokers is the the ritualised nature of it, not the nicotine, and e-cigarettes, like any other form of Nicotine Replacement Therapy does nothing to deal with this. The NHS is not so cash rich as to be able to waste its limited resources on fads like e-cigarettes, which were created for profit not for therapy.
