Experts: List smoking cessation meds in new catalogue

Several doctors and experts are appealing to the government to list smoking cessation medicines in the new Drug Catalogue of National Basic Medical Insurance in order to help more smokers kick the unhealthy habit.

Smoking has become the biggest public health problem in China, Wang Chen, Director of the WHO Collaborating Center for Tobacco or Health and president of the Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, said in a speech Saturday at the third annual meeting of the Asia Alliance for the Treatment of Nicotine Dependence.

According to data from a brochure about smoking, one million people die from smoking and related diseases every year in China. If not properly controlled, smoking will kill about 100 million people annually and half of them will die between the ages of 35 and 60.

Li Ling, professor with the National School of Development and China Center for Economic Research at Peking University, draws a conclusion from 2005 research data that the direct and indirect cost of smoking and related diseases tops 200 billion yuan to 300 billion yuan every year in China.

Dr. Xiao Dan with the Beijing Institute of Respiratory Medicine names three major therapies used at her institute: nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), bupropion hydrochloride and varenicline. The cost of each course of treatment ranges from 600 yuan to over 2,000 yuan.

She points out that of those trying to quit cold turkey, less than 3 percent succeed. Using NRT therapy can triple the success ratio.

The costs of these therapies can also be a financial burden. However, Masakazu Nakamura, Director of the Department of Health Promotion and Education, at the Osaka Medical Center for Health Science and Promotion, successfully led his research team and several other medical societies to make smoking cessation treatments reimbursed in Japan in April 2006. He said after that, outpatient smoking cessation clinics in Japan surged from 300 to over 8,000.

Moreover, Australia, Ireland, the UK, Belgium, Spain, Canada, the US, South Korea, France, Macao and Taiwan have already listed smoking cessation medicines in their medical reimbursement catalogues.

China's current catalogue covers over 2,000 medicines, including 1,305 western medicines and 893 traditional Chinese medicines. The new catalogue which is to be integrated with the National Essential Drug List, will be promulgated by the end of November.

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