Social value of medicines to stop smoking. Opinions regarding its financing

WHO’s measures to control smoking have facilitated the decrease in its prevalence but increasing
the differences between social groups. Facilitating the access to medicines, to quit smoking, to the
most disadvantaged, decreases the prevalence without increasing the differences between groups.
Recently, the financing of varenicline and bupropion has been approved but that measure could be
eliminated (it has already happened with other medications) or extended to the TSN and bupropion.
OBJETIVE: 1) Knowing the use of tobacco according to socioeconomic status, 2) Knowing
the opinion of the population regarding the financing according to the socioeconomic status and
tobacco use. METHOD: Population descriptive study. RESULTS: Increases tobacco consumption
by decreasing status. 64.3% are in favour of funding. Except for individuals without studies, the
favorable opinion of the measure decreases as the academic level increases. This opinion increases
as the relationship with tobacco increases, being minimal in non-smokers (52.6%) and maximum
in daily smokers (79.8%). DISCUSSION: The result coincides with other studies, but not with
the considerations of a 2011 report by the Health Technology Assessment Agency. The noncoincidence
could be an evolution of the opinion of the population, which goes from accentuating
the problem in the responsibility of the consumer to considering a more complex aetiology that
not only depends on the individual. Given the great support for the measure, it should not depend
on political or economic situations in the future and should be extended to TSN and bupropion.