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Free vapes could 'save thousands of lives' – report
Handing out free vapes to smokers in A&E departments could "save thousands of lives", a new study has found.
Academics from the University of East Anglia (UEA), based in Norwich, conducted a trial in six UK emergency departments, between January and August 2022.
The trial saw hundreds of daily smokers given e-cigarette starter kits and offered advice, with smoking habits assessed six months later.
The university said the approach "could result in more than 22,000 extra people quitting smoking each year".
During visits to A&E, some 484 patients, who smoked daily, were offered advice from a stop smoking adviser, along with an e-cigarette starter kit and referral to stop smoking services.
A second group of 488 patients was given written information on how to access stop smoking services, but were not referred directly.
The study found that those referred to services and offered vape kits were 76% more likely to have given up compared to the second group, with 7.2% quitting smoking after six months compared to 4.1%.
Researchers said that providing support in emergency departments should be considered, to "reach groups of the population that may not routinely engage with stop smoking services but have the most to gain from stopping smoking".
Prof Caitlin Notley, trial co-lead, said vapes could be "an attractive option" to help people stop smoking. We know that they are much less harmful than smoking tobacco, and that they have been shown to help smokers quit," she said.
"About half of all people who smoke will die prematurely, losing on average 10 years of life, and for every death caused by smoking, approximately 30 more people are suffering from a smoking-related disease."
Hazel Cheeseman, deputy chief executive of the public health charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), said the "compelling" findings should be "carefully considered by those in the NHS and local government who are planning services for smokers".
"This type of low-cost offer of support combined with an e-cigarette and located where smokers are accessing existing care is exactly what we need to make rapid progress in our efforts to reduce smoking, particularly for disadvantaged groups," she added.
Source: BBC News, 27 March 2023
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Tobacco law could see 910,000 fewer cigarettes smoked per day in the East of England
If passed by MPs, it would raise the legal age of sale of tobacco products in England by one year every year, meaning anyone born on or after January 1st, 2009 will never be able to legally be sold cigarettes.
New analysis by Cancer Research UK has estimated that between now and 2014, around the time the first of these youngsters will turn 30, the number of cigarettes that would go unsmoked across the UK would add up to tens of billions.
This would amount to 910,000 fewer cigarettes will be smoked in the East of England each day by 2040.
This could have a profound impact in the East of England, where tobacco kills one person every 50 minutes and is responsible for around 10,918 cancer deaths each year.
Cancer Research’s East of England Spokesperson, Elisa Mitchell, said: “The biggest cause of cancer has no place in our future. As our analysis suggests, fast-forward to 2040, and the statistics could tell a very different story. Up to 910,000 fewer cigarettes smoked each day in the region, would mean more people living longer, healthier lives, free from the fear of cancer.
Evidence shows that smoking rates go down with government action and its thanks to this that smoke-filled pubs and workplaces, tobacco advertising and branded packs have been consigned to the past.
The charity says Age of Sale legislation is a vital next step on the journey to a smokefree UK and would create a lasting legacy for its young people that the nation can be proud of.
Source: Bradford Today, 26 March 2024
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Diabetes and alcohol ‘among most harmful controllable dementia risk factors’
Diabetes, traffic-related air pollution and alcohol intake are among the most harmful controllable risk factors for dementia, a study suggests.
The researchers had previously identified a weak spot in the brain which is a specific area that develops later during adolescence, and also shows earlier degeneration in old age.
In the new study some 161 risk factors for dementia were examined, and ranked according to their impact on this brain network, over and above the natural effects of age.
The University of Oxford researchers classified these so-called modifiable risk factors – as they can potentially be changed throughout life to reduce the risk of dementia – into 15 broad categories.
These were blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, weight, alcohol consumption, smoking, depressive mood, inflammation, pollution, hearing, sleep, socialisation, diet, physical activity, and education.
The findings suggest that these specific parts of the brain are most vulnerable to alcohol, diabetes and traffic-related air pollution.
Professor Gwenaelle Douaud, who led the study, said: “We know that a constellation of brain regions degenerates earlier in ageing, and in this new study we have shown that these specific parts of the brain are most vulnerable to diabetes, traffic-related air pollution – increasingly a major player in dementia – and alcohol, of all the common risk factors for dementia.
“We have found that several variations in the genome influence this brain network, and they are implicated in cardiovascular deaths, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, as well as with the two antigens of a little-known blood group, the elusive XG antigen system, which was an entirely new and unexpected finding.”
Source: The Independent, 27 March 2024
See also: The effects of genetic and modifiable risk factors on brain regions vulnerable to ageing and disease
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Public satisfaction with the NHS at its lowest ever level, poll shows
Public satisfaction with the NHS has fallen to its lowest ever level, with long delays to access care the biggest source of deepening frustration, a study has shown.
Just 24% of people across England, Scotland and Wales – the fewest on record – are satisfied with the health service, according to the latest British Social Attitudes research.
Satisfaction has plummeted by 29% since before Covid-19 emerged in early 2020 and by an enormous 46% from the highest-ever 70% recorded in 2010, when the Conservatives took power. It fell five points alone from 29% in 2022 to the 24% seen last year.
The number of people who are dissatisfied with the NHS is also at an all-time high – 52%.
Asked why they were dissatisfied, more respondents said that it took too long to get a GP or hospital appointment (71%) than mentioned any other issue. “Not enough NHS staff” was the second most-cited reason (54%), followed by “the government doesn’t spend enough on the NHS” (47%). Almost a third (32%) cited the NHS wasting money.
Dan Wellings, part of the team at the King’s Fund, which alongside fellow thinktank the Nuffield Trust analysed the BSA findings, said the results were “bleak but [also] should not be surprising after a year of strikes, scandals and sustained long waits for care”.
Satisfaction with GP services and NHS dental care has fallen to the lowest-ever level – just 24% for both services. Slightly more people, but still small numbers, are satisfied with A&E (31%) and inpatient services (35%). But satisfaction with social care services is even worse, at a mere 13%.
The Patients Association said it was dismayed by the BSA survey findings, which are seen as the authoritative picture of how the public is feeling about the NHS.
The BSA survey, which was undertaken by the National Centre for Social Research, also found that:
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Eighty-four per cent think the NHS has a major or severe funding problem,
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Forty-eight per cent want the government to increase taxes and spend more on the NHS,
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Conservative voters are now almost as likely as Labour ones to not be satisfied with the NHS.
However, the results showed that, despite the NHS’s struggles, an overwhelming majority of the public remains committed to its founding principles – 91% believe it should be free of charge when people need it while 82% said that it should be funded primarily from taxation and available to everyone, regardless of income.
“The public do not want a different model; they just want the one they have to work,” said Wellings.
Source: The Guardian, 27 March 2024
See also: Public satisfaction with the NHS and social care in 2023: Results of the British Social Attitudes survey
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ASH Daily News is a digest of published news on smoking-related topics. ASH is not responsible for the content of external websites. ASH does not necessarily endorse the material contained in this bulletin.
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