According to the Minister of Health, François Braun, electronic cigarettes could soon be prescribed directly in pharmacies. The objective would be to help the 15 million smokers get out of nicotine addiction.
France is reputed to be a particularly smoking country. There are approximately 15 million regular users, including 12 million daily smokers. The dangers of smoking are well known today. According to the World Health Organization, almost half of smokers die of a tobacco-related disease. Each year, nearly 1.2 million non-smokers also die from repeated exposure to harmful smoke. To stem the phenomenon, France could test a new parade in the coming years: reimbursement by Social Security of all nicotine substitutes. Among these substitutes is the electronic cigarette. Already used by 7.5% of French people, it would have already helped 700,000 smokers to quit between 2010 and 2019.
The announcement was made by François Braun, the Minister of Health during his visit to the Grand jury RTL-LCI-Le Figaro. In his words: “I plan to open this possibility of prescription also to pharmacists who are confronted with these smokers who want to quit.” Pharmacists could then prescribe substitutes directly and monitor tobacco addicts from their pharmacy. Until then, only doctors, dentists and physiotherapists had the authorization. For Loïc Josseran, president of the Alliance against tobacco on the air of France Info : “pharmacists can completely prescribe electronic cigarettes provided they are properly trained.”
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A measure that will require the implementation of strict rules
If the idea makes rather enthusiastic the associations which fight against the tobacco addiction, these, as well as many doctors, alert however on the conditions which will have to be set up. The goal is not to turn pharmacies into vape shops, but to create a special, adapted and more restricted range of electronic cigarettes. These would be reimbursed only over the duration of withdrawal: “usually three months” according to Philippe Besset, President of the Federation of Pharmaceutical Unions of France interviewed in the Parisian. This method is already used in Australia. There, only two flavors are available in pharmacies: tobacco and menthol.
Loïc Josseran added on France Info: “The electronic cigarette is shown to be a withdrawal tool. But his deliverance will have to be very supervised, suitably trained pharmacists because it is not a question of transforming smokers into vapers but of helping them to get out of addiction.” Because the electronic cigarette is not a miracle cure. The WHO has repeatedly expressed reservations about the vapoteuse, whose long-term effects are not well known. If it is less dangerous than tobacco, it could still represent long-term risks, and should be prescribed for short periods. The measure should be part of the anti-tobacco plan which should be developed between 2024 and 2028 in the territory.