India's drug advisory board may restrict over-the-counter nicotine replacement therapy
India's drug advisory board is thinking about limiting easy access to most nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs), the stuff that helps people quit smoking without the nasty tobacco.
If this goes through, only plain 2-mg nicotine gum would be available without a prescription; everything else, like lozenges, would no longer be available over the counter.
Experts warn NRT restrictions hinder quitting
Doctors and public health experts say making NRTs tougher to get could actually stop people from quitting smoking, something that is already linked to over 1.35 million tobacco-related deaths a year in India.
As pulmonologist Dr. Priyanka Chaudhary Bindroo puts it, .".. Restricting a WHO-approved cessation aid without contemporary evidence is a step backward. ", and restricting these WHO-approved aids could just make the public health situation worse for everyone trying to kick the habit.