Dentists should be allowed to prescribe nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and prescription charges for NRT should be abolished, according to a new report aimed at reducing health inequalities.

Beyond smoking kills: protecting children, reducing inequalities, published this month, calls for more money to be put into smoking cessation services and for strengthening of links between dentists and stop-smoking programmes. Funded by Action on Smoking and Health, Cancer Research UK and the British Heart Foundation, the report is endorsed by some 100 other organisations including the BDA.

'England leads the world in providing free stop smoking services but the level of investment is below the level of need, despite their demonstrable cost effectiveness,' the report notes. 'Variations in the content and quality of stop smoking services are also problematic,' it adds.

'People who use the NHS should always have easy access to specialist stop-smoking services during their care,' it recommends. All health professionals should have the skills to offer basic stop smoking advice, dentists should be allowed to prescribe NRT, and smoking cessation should be taught in all undergraduate programmes for health professionals, the report urges.

It also calls for support to targeted on deprived and marginalised groups.