Smokers facing an operation would be asked to submit a blood sample...

Discussions are continuing in the UK about whether people who smoke heavily should be entitled to the same health care as people. With the National Health Service being overloaded with operations for smoking related diseases the UK government is considering denying certain operations to smokers unless they quit smoking habits 30 days before. 

In particular The Leicester City West Primary Care Trust is discussing possible curtailment of health benefits for smokers unless they make a serious commitment to their health. The trust officials are conscious of the fact that smokers always take much longer to recover from surgery when compared with individuals who do not smoke, and also that they are more likely to suffer from hospital infections.

Smokers due for operations will not be left out in the cold but will be given special smoking cessation counseling as well as a variety of smoking medications like the new drug from Pfizer, Champix. 

The possible new rules could mean that smokers facing an operation would be asked to submit a blood sample before they would be operated on.  The talks are still at an early level and nothing has been definitely concluded but it is becoming more and more apparent that smokers are costing the nation millions of pounds every year and something must be done about the problem. 

The new smoking cessation drug Champix has been OK'ed by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence as an effective drug to help people quit the habit and in independent testing was shown to be much better than using nicotine patches.  If you are considering giving up smoking you must remember that the use of smoking cessation drugs will not do all of the effort for you and that you still require a great deal of willpower and determination to kick the habit.