Subtitle:  The Government appears to favour nicotine replacement products
over safer cigarettes

Source: Times Of London (uk)
Date: 2010-03-04
Author: Dr Patrick Basham Director, Democracy Institute

Sir, President Obama\'s long-term failure to quit smoking
("Smoking gun shows Obama has failed to kick habit", Mar 2) is a
timely reminder that, as smoking isn\'t going to vanish, the
development of less hazardous products is an imperative. Yet, the
Government appears to favour nicotine replacement products over
cigarettes, with a preference heavily advocated by the
pharmaceutical industry. Given how unattractive these are to
smokers, as well as their high failure rate, it\'s not clear that
promoting such alternatives is in either smokers\' interests or
the public interest. Further, the Government\'s bias against safer
cigarettes may not serve the public\'s interest either.

There are still several million British adults who continue to
smoke and it\'s to this group that harm-reduction products should
be directed. Such reduction is, therefore, a legitimate extension
of earlier initiatives to reduce the health burden of smoking.