CAMPAIGNERS have welcomed new guidance which gives the NHS the green light to support smokers who want to cut down as well as those who want to give up.

Currently it is only smokers who make a commitment to give up cigarettes who are given a course of NHS nicotine replacement therapy.

But after new guidance from the medicines watchdog, the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE), NHS smoking cessation workers should be able to offer nicotine replacement products to people who simply want to cut down.

Ailsa Rutter, director of Fresh, the North-East tobacco control agency, said:  "It's absolutely clear the best step that a smoker can take to improve their health is to stop smoking abruptly, and many people do so successfully. However, this new guidance recognises that some people are highly dependent on nicotine, especially heavier smokers who have smoked since their teens."

The NICE guidance is aimed at reducing the harm caused by tobacco by encouraging more people who find it difficult to give up smoking to switch to licensed nicotine replacement products such as gum and patches.

Professor Mike Kelly, director of the NICE Centre for Public Health, said: "Over 79,000 deaths in England each year are due to smoking tobacco. Put simply, people smoke for the nicotine but die because of the tar in tobacco. However, nicotine inhaled from smoking tobacco is highly addictive, which is why people find it so difficult to stop smoking."

"If you are a smoker, quitting smoking is the best way to improve health, and stopping in one step is most likely to be successful. This guidance recommends harm reduction as an additional new option particularly for those who are highly dependent on smoking who want to quit, but can't just stop in one go."

Ms Rutter pointed out that cutting down to quit, or using NRT in the longer term, to avoid relapse, could help save lives.

"We welcome positive action to offer more flexible attempts to help reduce the harm caused by smoking that might appeal to some smokers and ultimately give them a better chance of quitting altogether successfully," she added.