Some schools in the United Kingdom are giving out nicotine patches in order to help kids quit smoking. This is a government project, which schools in the Barnsley and South Yorkshire area have signed up for.
This movement was brought forth in February by England's NHS advisory body, which thought that children should also be helped in getting over their nicotine problems.
The BBC was told by one parent who's son was getting some of this help that the plan was, "fantastic."
After starting senior school Karen White's son started to smoke nearly 10 cigarettes a day. Nicky said, "When I went into the senior year I was with the big 'uns and I thought 'shall I try it?' and I did and I got addicted and so I thought it was good."
"But I thought it was horrible when I saw the pictures on the Internet about lung cancer so I thought I would stop."
The teachers at his school asked his mother to enroll him in the program when he was caught smoking on school grounds. Nicky has now been getting nicotine patches and smoking cessation gum, and he's now bent on getting his friends to stop, too.
This is a great solution to a problem that is usually the worst when it starts early. People who start smoking when they are extremely young have the hardest time quitting and sometimes only a helping hand is needed.
[Via: BBC]
