The One
29th September 2011, 08:29
A drug found to triple a smoker's chances of quitting will not be officially available in Britain for another three years – even though it can be bought now for 12p a pill online
http://img.metro.co.uk/i/pix/2011/09/28/article-1317246888181-0BB24FFA00000578-362566_636x344.jpg
Nicotine substitute Tabex cannot be prescribed here although it has helped millions of people in eastern Europe during the past four decades.
The plant-based treatment has no known harmful side-effect and could save the NHS millions of pounds a year, it is claimed.
But it will not be cleared for up to three years because of what experts claim are ‘Alice in Wonderland’ drug regulations.
Instead, they fear that smokers will buy Tabex online despite the internet being flooded with poor quality counterfeit drugs.
The origins of Tabex can be traced to World War II when German and Russian soldiers satisfied their craving for nicotine by smoking laburnum leaves.
It has been extensively tested in eastern Europe but the trials were not considered robust enough to satisfy British regulators.
A new study has now found that people who wanted to stop smoking were 3.4 times more likely to succeed with Tabex.
More than eight per cent of those given the drug were able to avoid smoking for a year compared with 2.4 per cent of a placebo group, the trial involving 740 patients found.
Cancer Research UK’s Prof Robert West, who led the study, said: ‘It’s been available in central and eastern Europe for more than 40 years, we have safety data on millions of people and we know it’s effective but it’s not licensed in Britain.
‘One of the Alice in Wonderland things about the regulatory system is that it’s not designed for drugs that have been on the market for a long time. It’s designed for drugs you’re bringing from animals to humans.’
He claimed Tabex would be a tenth the price of standard treatment, Champix, which costs up to £150 for a 12-week course.
He added: ‘There’s nothing illegal about buying it online but there’s always the risk you might not get what you expect.’
The Department of Health said the drug ‘sounds promising’, adding: ‘We will look at whether it has prospects for use in the UK to help smokers quit
My opinion it’s banned because its extract of plant. These big pharmaceutical companies do nothing for the greater good. Its greed greed and more greed for them.
I believe also that most disease have been cured using the extract of plants from the Amazon, but these are locked away under lock and key by the big boys
Read more: http://www.metro.co.uk/news/876964-12p-cure-for-smokers-not-to-be-made-available-in-britain#ixzz1ZKQ5KPpm
http://img.metro.co.uk/i/pix/2011/09/28/article-1317246888181-0BB24FFA00000578-362566_636x344.jpg
Nicotine substitute Tabex cannot be prescribed here although it has helped millions of people in eastern Europe during the past four decades.
The plant-based treatment has no known harmful side-effect and could save the NHS millions of pounds a year, it is claimed.
But it will not be cleared for up to three years because of what experts claim are ‘Alice in Wonderland’ drug regulations.
Instead, they fear that smokers will buy Tabex online despite the internet being flooded with poor quality counterfeit drugs.
The origins of Tabex can be traced to World War II when German and Russian soldiers satisfied their craving for nicotine by smoking laburnum leaves.
It has been extensively tested in eastern Europe but the trials were not considered robust enough to satisfy British regulators.
A new study has now found that people who wanted to stop smoking were 3.4 times more likely to succeed with Tabex.
More than eight per cent of those given the drug were able to avoid smoking for a year compared with 2.4 per cent of a placebo group, the trial involving 740 patients found.
Cancer Research UK’s Prof Robert West, who led the study, said: ‘It’s been available in central and eastern Europe for more than 40 years, we have safety data on millions of people and we know it’s effective but it’s not licensed in Britain.
‘One of the Alice in Wonderland things about the regulatory system is that it’s not designed for drugs that have been on the market for a long time. It’s designed for drugs you’re bringing from animals to humans.’
He claimed Tabex would be a tenth the price of standard treatment, Champix, which costs up to £150 for a 12-week course.
He added: ‘There’s nothing illegal about buying it online but there’s always the risk you might not get what you expect.’
The Department of Health said the drug ‘sounds promising’, adding: ‘We will look at whether it has prospects for use in the UK to help smokers quit
My opinion it’s banned because its extract of plant. These big pharmaceutical companies do nothing for the greater good. Its greed greed and more greed for them.
I believe also that most disease have been cured using the extract of plants from the Amazon, but these are locked away under lock and key by the big boys
Read more: http://www.metro.co.uk/news/876964-12p-cure-for-smokers-not-to-be-made-available-in-britain#ixzz1ZKQ5KPpm