NHS Cancer Plan

The NHS Cancer Plan emphasises the importance of reducing tobacco consumption in order to improve cancer prevention. It sets out the government’s tobacco control strategy which includes:

• A commitment to ban tobacco advertising
• Specialist NHS smoking cessation services
• Pharmacotherapies (nicotine replacement therapy [NRT] and Zyban) available on prescription
• The Committee on Safety of Medicines has approved NRT to be made available for general sale. The General Sales List (GSL) Order sets maximum doses for GSL products over which the product must be classified as ‘Pharmacy Only’. The maximum strength for chewing gums is 4mg, for lozenges 1mg, for 16 hour transdermal patches 15mg, and 24 hour patches may have a maximum strength of 21mg
• Guidance on smoking cessation for healthcare professionals and commissioners from the Health Development Agency (HDA), which was published in the journal Thorax (West et al., 2000)
• A best-practice code to enforce the law against cigarette sales to children under 16
• A media campaign and NHS smokers’ helpline.

In addition to the national targets, The NHS Cancer Plan announced the intention to set local targets for the 20 health authorities with the highest smoking rates. A number of steps to meet the new targets are set out:

• Health Improvement and Modernisation Plans (HIMPs) should set out how primary care trusts (PCTs) and their partners will develop smoking cessation services. Guidance from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) has been issued (NICE, 2002)
• Up to £1 million is allocated to funding new local alliances for action on tobacco. These alliances will be a national network forming a link between the cessation services and the community
• The government is supporting a national initiative for major employers to help them develop smoking policies for the workplace
• £750,000 has been made available for smoking cessation work with black and minority ethnic groups, including an advertising campaign in the South Asian press and broadcast media and a specialist NHS Asian Tobacco Helpline (DH, 2001d)
• New pilot projects are being developed for hard to reach communities, such as prisons and long-stay hospitals
• A £2.5 million research programme, with a particular focus on disadvantaged groups, children and pregnant women, will support policy on smoking cessation.

Realted Articles

• NHS Cancer Plan
• Trends in smoking
• Features of effective interventions
• Local alliances in England
• Who to target: Young people or adults?
• Reducing inequality in health
• Components of a local strategy