Subsidised nicotine replacement therapy in a community pharmacy setting.
OBJECTIVE
Nicotine replacement therapies are effective, but are mostly under-utilised and often not used for an appropriate duration. The paper reports on a pilot project that used subsidies for NRT as a means to engage community pharmacists to deliver tobacco cessation to the Arabic-speaking community.


METHODS
Arabic-speaking community pharmacists were recruited through direct mail-outs and trained in tobacco cessation brief intervention. Fifteen selected pharmacies recruited Arabic smokers through their pharmacies. Pharmacy follow-up was conducted three months after the program was implemented.


RESULTS
A total of 65 participants attended the seminar. A total of 31 pharmacy customers received at least one packet of subsidised NRT patches. Twenty (64.5%) clients received both the first and second subsidised pack. Fifteen clients continued to use patches after the third packet, however only three clients continued the patches to the eighth pack.


CONCLUSIONS
The pilot was successful in improving recruitment of pharmacies into training for smoking cessation counselling as well as engaging community pharmacists to deliver tobacco cessation intervention with small incentive.
Poder
Natasha
N
SSWAHS Health Promotion Service (Western Zone), Liverpool BC 1871, New South Wales. natasha.poder@sswahs.nsw.gov.au
Perusco
Andrew
A
Hua
Myna
M
D018912:Arabs; D016527:Drug Costs; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D009517:New South Wales; D009538:Nicotine / Q000191:economics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018579:Patient Selection; D010594:Pharmacies; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015397:Program Evaluation; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods*
D009538:Nicotine