CAPHRA: MAKING NRTs HARDER TO GET IS PUBLIC HEALTH MADNESS

Manila, Philippines — CAPHRA believes that India risks making it harder for people who smoke to quit if they initiate a restriction on nicotine gums and lozenges, whilst cigarettes and other tobacco products remain widely available, after reports that regulators may tighten over-the-counter access to approved nicotine replacement products.

CAPHRA said the proposal would be a serious step backward for smoking cessation and public health. If approved quit aids become harder to obtain while the deadliest tobacco products remain easy to buy, more people who smoke are likely to delay quit attempts, give up on quitting, or continue smoking.

CAPHRA Executive Coordinator Nancy Loucas said the contradiction was impossible to ignore.

“This is public health madness,” Loucas said. “If cigarettes are readily available, nicotine replacement therapies should not be harder to get.”

Loucas said nicotine replacement therapy is a recognised, evidence-based cessation aid that helps people who smoke manage cravings and withdrawal without exposure to the toxic smoke produced by burning tobacco.

“These products are not magic bullets, and they are not risk-free,” she said. “But they are established quit aids, and good policy should make them easier to access, not harder.”

The concerns follow reports that India’s Drug Technical Advisory Board has recommended tighter access to most nicotine replacement products, with only unflavoured 2 mg nicotine gum reportedly exempt and nicotine lozenges excluded. CAPHRA said that approach risks reducing treatment access at the very point people who smoke need more support, not less.

A letter published in the peer-reviewed Indian Journal of Psychiatry warned that stricter regulation of nicotine replacement therapy in India has already reduced availability for patients seeking treatment for tobacco dependence. The authors also argued that such restrictions run against the goal of improving access to treatment for quitting tobacco use.

Clarisse Virgino, CAPHRA’s Philippines spokesperson said the greatest harm would fall on people who already face the biggest barriers to care.

“Every extra barrier means another smoker may give up on quitting before they even start,” Virgino said. “That is especially damaging for lower-income and rural communities, where access to doctors, cessation clinics and specialist support is already limited.”

The Indian Journal of Psychiatry letter also noted that nicotine gum was added to India’s National List of Essential Medicines in 2022, underlining its recognised role in smoking cessation support rather than a product that should be pushed further out of reach.

“Nicotine replacement therapy is not the problem. Smoking is,” she said. “Indian regulators should reject this proposal and expand access to approved quit aids through pharmacies, community settings and public quit campaigns.”

CAPHRA said any credible tobacco control strategy should reduce barriers to evidence-based cessation support, not create new ones.

Media Contact:
N.E. Loucas, Executive Coordinator

CAPHRA

neloucas@caphraorg.net