PUTRAJAYA: Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah says the health ministry will look into the possibility of engaging with the private sector and pharmaceutical companies to bring nicotine patches and gum to government clinics as part of efforts to reduce the smoking rate.
“This is something we can explore,” he told reporters after attending the ministry’s monthly assembly here with Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad.
“All of these supplies are from pharmacies, commercialised items, not from the health ministry. If someone buys them from the pharmacy, they would be charged the commercial price.
“So the ministry will engage with commercial companies to see if we can bring it to our clinics,” he said.
If the engagements succeed, he said, the government will consider dispensing the products at government clinics.
He added that he would look into what could be done to reduce the price of nicotine patches and gum to help smokers kick the habit.