Nicotine patches for 12-year-old British smokers

0 Comments | AFP, December, 2005

LONDON (AFP) — British schoolchildren as young as 12 are to be offered nicotine patches to help them kick the habit, according to health officials.

"It does not take long for young people to be addicted to nicotine," Iain Miller, a smoking cessation adviser with local healthcare provider Derwentside Primary Care Trust (PCT) in northeast England, said Tuesday.

The PCT has teamed up with the Government's Sure Start scheme -- which aims to improve the health of the nation's children -- to provide patches to 12- to 17-year-olds at six schools.

The nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) is to be used alongside advice and support from school nurses and young people's workers.

Derwentside, a former industrial area built on the steel and coal industry, reflects...