CHILDREN who smoke are to be offered nicotine patches and gum on the NHS after a review of the safety of the therapies, it was announced yesterday. Children as young as 12 will be eligible for nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) without parental consent after ministers decided to change health guidance to widen use of the products. Restrictions recommending that the products are not used by those aged 12 to 18, pregnant and breast-feeding women, and patients with heart, kidney or liver disease will be removed from packs. The Department of Health said that the decision came after the Committee on Safety of Medecines concluded that there are certain groups for which it is important to give up smoking as soon as possible. The committee said that there was strong evidence suggesting that it was far more harmful for groups such as pregnant women to carry on smoking than it was to use nicotine replacement products. Doctors and nurses wishing to prescribe children nicotine therapies do not need to have parental consent if they judge it unnecessary. According to General Medical Council guidance, a GP must assess a child’s capacity to agree or refuse treatment and make a judgment based on each individual case.
