Reader query: I’m an lively smoker in France and I’m desperately trying to give it up. I’ve been trying into nicotine substitutes (like patches) and I used to be questioning if they’re reimbursed by the state or Assurance Maladie?
Therapy to assist individuals wean themselves of tobacco dependancy utilizing nicotine substitutes known as thérapie de substitution nicotinique (TSN) in French. This will embody patches, sweets, capsules, and many others.
Nicotine patches or sweets was once reimbursed as much as a restrict of €150 per yr, however this was modified in 2019.
Since then, state healthcare has reimbursed sure nicotine substitutes at 65% – the identical price as medication. You’ll be able to see a listing of the remedies lined here.
You want a prescription out of your GP, nurse, dentist or midwife (for pregnant ladies) to get the reimbursement.
Specialist tabacologues — medical professionals who information people who smoke of their efforts to give up smoking – additionally exist for anti-smoking recommendation. You will discover your nearest one using this search tool.
Patches, sweets, capsules and different TSNs could be purchased from pharmacies and so they normally now supply tiers payant for this, that means you do not want to pay the charges which can be lined by your medical insurance coverage up entrance, when you have a carte Vitale and top-up medical insurance coverage.
You can even purchase these nicotine substitutes and not using a prescription in pharmacies, however you’ll not be eligible for reimbursement.
Alongside the usual healthcare reimbursement of 65%, an increasing number of top-up healthcare insurance coverage insurance policies (mutuelles) at the moment are additionally reimbursing remedies to assist individuals quit smoking.
It means your mutuelle could cowl the remaining 35% of the price not lined by state insurance coverage, aside from a €0.50 cost per therapy for a charge referred to as the franchise médicale that you’ll both should pay with out reimbursement (in case you are paying upfront) or that might be deducted routinely from a future reimbursement if you happen to use le tiers payant.
Some top-up insurance coverage insurance policies additionally cowl the price of consultations with tobacco specialists in addition to (normally inside sure limits) various therapies resembling acupuncture, homeopathy, hypnosis and many others.
A telephone app, Tabac info service, can present personalised assist to quit smoking.
The federal government additionally has a site aimed toward serving to individuals to set a aim of 1 month with out smoking, as they are saying those that do it are probably to have the ability to cease for good.
Smoking in play parks is banned and punishable by a wonderful of as much as €450. Cigarettes should be bought in plain standardised cigarette packaging and there’s a ban on smoking in automobiles the place minors are current.
The usage of e-cigarettes in its place, or a means of slicing down, is fashionable. There may be some proof that they’re much less dangerous, no less than within the short-term.
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