Stop smoking lollipops cause concern

April 4, 2002 Posted: 9:58 AM EST (1458 GMT)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Sucking on nicotine-laced lollipops is catching on as a way to quit smoking, but critics on Wednesday worried about the products' appeal to children and urged a ban until studies prove they are safe and effective.

Sold in flavors such as apricot, eggnog and watermelon, the lollipops are available at some pharmacies and over the Internet. Unlike gums and patches to kick the tobacco habit, the lollipops do not have Food and Drug Administration approval.

Pharmacists said they can sell the pops under rules that permit them to prepare medicines using bulk ingredients to make them easier to take, a practice known as compounding. For example, pharmacists can take a drug tablet and make it into a liquid for a child.

The nicotine lollipops, sold under names such as NicoPop and Likatine, are drawing fire because critics view them as unapproved drugs.

Representative Henry Waxman, a California Democrat, said the pops contain nicotine salicylate, an unapproved form of nicotine that he said may harm children's livers in rare cases.

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