11-YEAR-OLDS BEING GIVEN NICOTINE PATCHES

KIDS as young as 11 are being offered nicotine products to wean them off smoking.

The Times can reveal that Coventry schools are taking part in a £10,000 pilot scheme to help children kick the habit.

Five city schools took part in the project and the stop smoking scheme will now be rolled out across eight schools in total.

Figures from NHS Coventry show one in four 11 to 16-year-olds have tried smoking, with three per cent describing themselves as regular smokers.

The NHS School Nursing Service and Coventry’s Stop Smoking Service have been holding 12-week workshops at the selected schools in a bid to cut back on the number of young smokers.

The meetings, which take place in private on school premises, offer support, advice and education to pupils about the dangers of smoking.

But those who are addicted to cigarettes may also be offered Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) such as inhalers, patches and gum.

Of 22 pupils who put themselves forward for the sessions during the pilot, half dropped out.

Of the 11 that remained, two have quit cigarettes while the others have “cut back significantly”.

One 15-year-old girl, who wished to remain anonymous, cut back from a 24-a-day habit to four cigarettes a day.

Liz Little, school nurse team leader, said: “Parents were informed these sessions were going to happen.

“They started because there weren’t any stop smoking services attracting that age group in terms of helping them to quit.

“A lot of young people just need support and someone to listen.

“We encourage pupils to talk to their parents and inform them of what’s
going on.

“After assessments if we think it appropriate we use NRT such as patches and in a few instances we have used gum - but just a few.”

The service takes regular carbon monoxide readings that show if a person has cut back on smoking.

Councillor John Blundell, cabinet member for children, learning and young people, said he would encourage prevention over cure.

He added: “I think it is quite disturbing that so many young people are smoking. You just wonder how they manage to acquire the habit in the first instance.

“They should never have started, but this is the world that we live in and we need to do as much as we can to get pupils off the habit.

“Kids must be educated on the dangers of smoking to ensure they do not start in the first place.”

Earlier this year an NHS survey found almost 1,000 youngsters admitted smoking at least once a week.

Natalie Hinsley, Stop Smoking Service manager, said: “We see this as an important service. Early intervention means young people can soon begin to reap the benefits of a healthier lifestyle from being smoke-free.

“The scheme was well-received by both young people and schools, so much so that it has now been included into the core role of school nurses working in the city.

“Smoking is the single largest preventable cause of ill health and accounts for around one in six deaths in Coventry, or about 500 deaths per year, which is why it is so important that we work with young people and their families to encourage behavioural change.”

For more advice contact the school nursing service on 024 7624 6211 or the Stop Smoking Service on 0800 051 1310, or visit www.coventrysmokefree.nhs.uk.