§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many other prescribable medicines apart from nicotine substitute chewing gum are not allowed to be prescribed on the National Health Service by general practitioners.
§ Mr. John PattenTo date, nicotine chewing gum is the only licensed medicine which the advisory committee on borderline substances has advised should not be regarded as a drug when prescribed by general medical practitioners. The recommendations of the committee are advisory on the medical profession; general medical practitioners remain free to prescribe what they consider necessary for the treatment of individual NHS patients although they may be challenged to justify those decisions under recognised statutory procedures.