Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Health Commissioner Seeks Easier Access to Nicotine Therapy

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- The state health commissioner wants to make it easier for people to get over-the-counter nicotine therapy to help them quit smoking.

Commissioner Richard Daines has petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to challenge the federal policy that limits smokers' access to nicotine patches, gum, and lozenges.

Daines says the smoking cessation aids should be as easy to get as cigarettes, and their benefits and safety should be better promoted. He says nicotine patches, gum, and lozenges are the safest forms of nicotine, and yet they're far more tightly regulated than the more dangerous cigarettes are.

Currently, you have to buy a one- or two-week supply of nicotine replacement therapy, costing 20 to 40 dollars. Yet, most smokers buy cigarettes a day at a time.

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