Smoking cigarettes is a very strong and addictive habit. Because even its negative effects, such as: clothes smell, health problems and many others, can’t make smokers to quit. For example one in four people in the UK still smoke, even…
Monthly Archives: March 2009
Monitoring co levels effectively
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A recent survey of CO verification within NHS Stop Smoking Services showed that provision varies greatly.35 As a result, it made the following recommendations: All stop smoking advisers need to have access to a CO monitor at every consultation. This…
Biochemical markers
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There are a number of well-established biochemical methods for establishing smoking status in individuals attempting to quit. The most cost-effective and least invasive of these is to measure the amount of CO in expired air. carBoN moNoxide Evidence rating: As…
Guidance
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The USA, England, and New Zealand have all recently published guidance on brief interventions. These are aimed at motivating smokers to quit and support them during the attempt. Current National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidance describes these…
Department of Health targets and Smoking metrics
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As part of the WCC commissioning assurance system, and to demonstrate skills in prioritising and strategic planning, all PCTs are required to choose up to ten local health outcomes that they will be assessed against as part of the assurance…
World Class Stop Smoking Services
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This updated guidance will be useful for PCTs that have selected smoking prevalence as a WCC priority. It will help them identify what quality smoking cessation services look like, enabling them to select services based on the best available evidence…
Quality priNcipleS for Stop SmokiNg iNterveNtioNS
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Programme guidance on smoking cessation recommends the following stop smoking interventions as being cost-effective: brief interventions individual behavioural counselling group behaviour therapy pharmacotherapies – NRT, Zyban (bupropion) and Champix (varenicline) self-help materials telephone counselling and helplines Services will vary in…
NHS SmokiNg HelpliNe
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The national NHS Smoking Helpline (0800 169 0 169) and the Smokefree website (www.nhs.uk/smokefree) currently provide referrals to NHS Stop Smoking Services, mostly from smokers responding to national campaign activity. Work is under way to improve the links between national…
Stop SmokiNg ServiceS
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Stop smoking service leads and commissioners need to ensure that SLAs or Local Enhanced Service contracts with service providers include clear criteria for delivery and reporting requirements. All staff involved in this work should be trained, either by the service…
Calculating self-reported success rates
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Calculating CO-verified, self-reported success rates The CO-verified four-week success rate achieved by a service or individual service provider will be the number of successful CO-verified quitters at four weeks (as previously defined) divided by the number of smokers treated (as…
Stop smoking definitions and procedures
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It is essential that all stop smoking services adopt strict criteria when deciding on who to include in their monitoring return and the four-week quit status of a service user, and that these criteria are applied consistently. This was an…
Monitoring NHS stop smoking services
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NHS stop smoking services are monitored monthly, by means of the brief, monthly reporting system introduced in 2007 and by means of a more detailed, quarterly data collection. From April 2008 quarterly data collection will be submitted directly to the…
Quit Smoking Help
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Wednesday was National Kick Butts Day and thousands of kids around the country are participating in activities that educate people about the dangers of smoking and chewing tobacco. Belpre Elementary students are participating in prevention activities all week. Wednesday members…
More Oklahomans have quit smoking
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Lawton_More Oklahomans have quit smoking according to the Oklahoma Health Department. The adult smoking rate has dropped from 28.7% in 2001 to 24.7% in 2008. The figures seem to ring true in Lawton as well – but why? Reasons range…