Community Pharmacy England (CPE) has unveiled “draft versions” of the updated service specification for the smoking cessation service, which has been published on the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) website.
The government announced in March – as part of the 2025/26 pharmacy contract – that the smoking cessation service would be expanded to allow “suitably trained and competent staff” to provide the service alongside pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.
The reform also included the introduction of patient group directions (PGDs) for the provision of varenicline and cytisinicline (cytisine) under the service, which can be delivered by both pharmacy technicians and pharmacists.
Read more: Pharmacy stop-smoking service expands to ‘non-registered’ staff
CPE yesterday (December 18) explained that these changes to the cessation service “necessitate updates to the service specification”, along with new PGDs.
The negotiator said it had been working with NHS England (NHSE) and the Department of Health and Social Care (DH) to create the updated documents.
And it explained that the draft documents had been published to “provide advance notice of the changes” for pharmacy owners and their teams.
“Necessary changes”
This will also help to support IT system suppliers in “developing the necessary changes to their systems”, CPE added.
The pharmacy negotiator noted, however, that the commencement date for the revised service is not yet known, and that a provisional start date “has not yet been agreed”.
But it said that the date will be announced by NHSE “in due course”.
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“For now, the service has not changed, and pharmacy owners and their teams must continue to provide the service in line with the current document”, CPE said.
It added that the “final versions” of the service specification will be published on the NHSE website “prior to the commencement date” for the revised service.
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The decision to expand the pharmacy smoking cessation service was made to “enable better use of skill mix” with delivery of “parts” of the service by “registered and non-registered pharmacy staff”, the government said at the time.
And CPE set out that the changes would “require developments to IT systems”, adding that the date they will apply from “will be announced in due course”.
