Until now, smokers who used nicotine substitutes to quit smoking only benefited from an annual lump sum of 150 euros, reimbursed after heavy administrative procedures. A process about to change.
From this Sunday, May 20, social security will reimburse the NICORETTESKIN® nicotine substitutes at 4 p.m. from the Jonhson & Johnson Beauté Santé France laboratory.
Social inequalities
A measure that goes in the right direction, when we know that social inequalities in the face of smoking unfortunately continue to widen. Between 2010 and 2016, the percentage of daily smokers continued to increase among low-income French people, from 35.2% to 37.5%. Conversely, among wealthy French people, daily smoking increased from 23.5% to 20.9% during this period.
The reimbursement will also be direct, unlike what is currently done. Since 2016, smokers who used nicotine substitutes to quit smoking benefited from an annual flat rate of 150 euros. To benefit from it, it was necessary to advance the costs then send the prescription and the pharmacy invoice to the health insurance fund. “This cumbersome, sometimes even dissuasive approach, did not simplify the task of smokers. In addition, the amount of this package was sometimes insufficient for the most dependent smokers, whose treatment duration is longer and therefore more expensive”, analysis Dr Anne-Laurence Le Faou, tobacco specialist.
Be careful, however, smoking cessation patches are not as harmless as one might think, as indicated by the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM). The Agency received “reports of risks of medication errors or errors”, of which three quarters resulted in the occurrence of adverse effects, half of them even being considered serious (i.e. that is to say that can lead to death, likely to jeopardize the patient’s vital prognosis, liable to jeopardize the safety of one or more living donors and / or one or more recipients).
4 tips to avoid side effects
Problems with the use of anti-smoking patches are most of the time linked to poor information or a misunderstanding of the product. In this context, the ANSM recalls several important tips:
– The patch must not be cut except when the possibility of cutting is specified in the instructions.
– The recommendations concerning the place of application of the patch and the methods of application must be followed (the protective film of the patch must be removed before application, do not write on the patch).
– Used patches still contain the active ingredient after use, so keep them out of reach of children to avoid exposure to accidental overdoses.
– The temperature can have an impact on the speed and the dose delivered of the active principle through the skin and be the cause of overdose. It is therefore necessary to avoid significant heat sources (hot water bottle on the patch, hot bath, sauna), to carry out sports activities in hot weather, to expose yourself to the sun for a long time or without protecting the patch with clothing.
Six million to eight million annual deaths by 2030
It is now widely accepted that tobacco consumption is dangerous and harmful to health. Within fifteen years, the number of deaths linked to tobacco will even explode in the world, recently reported the WHO : “The number of tobacco-related deaths is expected to increase from around six million to eight million annual deaths by 2030, of which 80% are in low- and middle-income countries.”
In France, 34.5% of 15-75 year olds smoked tobacco in 2016, including 28.7% daily. 34% of men and 28% of women smoke. If these prevalences have been stable since 2010, after the increase observed between 2005 and 2010, smoking is still the cause of 73,000 deaths per year.
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