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** 09 March 2022
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** UK
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** No Smoking Day 2022: Local authorities and devolved nations take action (#1)
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** Only 45% of smokers in hospital get advice on quitting, 45% (#2)
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** 13 million cigarettes worth more than £7m seized in crackdown on 'tab houses' selling illegal tobacco (#3)
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** High street pharmacies to help people quit smoking (#4)
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** UK
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** Health organisations and public officials in Scotland, Wales, and across local authorities in England have marked national No Smoking Day by encouraging smokers in their areas to quit. The theme for No Smoking Day in England this year is to never give up on giving up, with smokers encouraged to not give up quitting even if they have tried before, as each attempt brings a smoker closer to success.

The campaign includes the voices of UK healthcare professionals who have offered encouragement and first-hand insights about the benefits of quitting. In Wales, ASH Wales ([link removed]) has partnered with national stop smoking support service ‘Help Me Quit’ to highlight the support a smoker would receive through the NHS in Wales. In Scotland, ASH Scotland ([link removed]) is encouraging people to “Quit Your Way” by seeking person-centred support from cessation services, community pharmacies, or the national Quit Your Way Scotland service run by NHS 24 for a tailored approach.

In Greater Manchester ([link removed]) , the Greater Manchester Health & Social Care Partnership has launched its local Never Quit Quitting campaign. Andrea Crossfield, Making Smoking History Lead at Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership, said: “In Greater Manchester we’re committed to making smoking history. While record numbers of people are quitting successfully, we want to empower and support even more people.” In Warrington ([link removed]) , staff from the local smokefree team have highlighted the many benefits of quitting smoking and reminded local people that they offer support.

Deborah Arnott, Chief Executive of Action on Smoking and Health, said: “Smokers are three times more likely to succeed in quitting with help from a trained professional than with willpower alone. Healthcare professionals can refer them to this support but smokers can also find their local free service by searching ‘smokefree’ and entering their postcode. NHS staff fear smokers won’t listen to them, but they can make the difference. Any health professional can help show them the way and have an everlasting impact on someone’s health. Today is the day to seize the moment.”
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Source: Wales247, 9 March 2022

See also: ASH - Don’t give up on giving up: The message from healthcare professionals to smokers this No Smoking Day ([link removed])
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** A new audit from the British Thoracic Society (BTS) has found that less than half (45%) of smokers admitted to hospital are offered advice on how to quit. It also found that only half of NHS trusts were offering regular smoking cessation training to staff. The audit came as ASH released new data showing that 42% of smokers expect to get advice about quitting every time they visit the GP. The survey also found that 28% believe such advice would prompt them to make a quit attempt.

The BTS audit looked at 14,000 patient records across 120 UK hospitals during 2021 whilst the ASH survey was released to mark No Smoking Day. BTS said that more healthcare workers should be trained in how to help patients stop smoking. Professor Sanjay Agrawal, national specialty adviser for tobacco addiction and a board member at ASH, said: “The BTS audit findings demonstrate the considerable opportunity to screen and treat tobacco dependency across the NHS.”

Speaking to mark No Smoking Day, ASH chief executive Deborah Arnott said: “No one should give up on giving up. Every time someone tries to stop smoking, they are a step closer to success. Like anything worth doing it can take practice to stop smoking – but there is lots of help out there. Smokers are three times more likely to succeed in quitting with help from a trained professional than with willpower alone. Healthcare professionals can refer them to this support but smokers can also find their local free service by searching ‘smokefree’ and entering their postcode.”
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Source: The Northern Echo, 9 March 2022

See also: British Thoracic Society - More healthcare professionals should be trained to give smoking cessation advice to capitalise on “the power of the clinician’s voice” ([link removed])
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** Investigators have seized more than £7 million worth of cigarettes in the first year of a major Trading Standards operation. Investigators seized 13 million cigarettes and 4,300 kilos of hand-rolling tobacco, with seizures of smuggled tobacco and cash at the border and illegal factories shut abroad.

The operation, revealed on national No Smoking Day, included revenue and customs staff, border force officials, police, and local authorities. In one case, more than 680,000 cigarettes with a market value of up to £200,000 were found at a house in Oxfordshire, whilst in another over 1,300 packets of illegally produced cigarettes and £70,000 in cash were seized from a home in Newcastle, a so-called ‘tab house’ that sold the cigarettes directly to customers by occupants with links to organised crime. Across the year, investigators also seized 109 kilos of flavoured shisha pipe tobacco products.

National Trading Standards said that the illegal tobacco trade cost the Treasury £2 billion a year in lost tax. Wendy Martin, Director of National Trading Standards, said: "The illegal tobacco trade harms children, wider communities and businesses and props up organised crime.” Deborah Arnott, Chief Executive of Action on Smoking and Health, said: "With price such an important prompt for smokers to give quitting a go it's fantastic to be celebrating these achievements on national No Smoking Day. Cheap, illegal tobacco undermines our efforts to help smokers stop and prevent children from starting. It's vital we keep up this work to rid our streets of the criminal sale of tobacco."

Source: Sky news, 9 March 2022
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** The NHS has announced that every pharmacy in England will be able to offer stop smoking support to patients when they are discharged from hospital this week. Announced to mark national No Smoking Day, from tomorrow (10 March) help will be available in every local pharmacy that signs up to the service. The action is part of the rollout of the NHS Long Term Plan with its commitment to offer tobacco treatment services to all hospital inpatients by 2023/24.

Under the scheme, there will be at least three opportunities for people to arrange a convenient face-to-face or remote appointment with the pharmacist for up to 12 weeks and ongoing supplies of the medicine they need to help them quit will be supplied free of charge. Patients can be referred for the new support by the NHS trust they are being treated by when they are discharged and can choose which pharmacy they can use. They will be contacted once they are home from hospital. Pilots of the service in Oldham, Greater Manchester have already successfully supported smokers to quit after they left hospital. Under the pilot, three in five people successfully quit smoking.

GP and Director of health inequalities, Dr Bola Owolabi for the NHS in England, said: “While rates are falling, giving up smoking remains one of the most important steps to leading a longer and healthier life, and the NHS is working hard to make it as easy as possible for people who decide to quit smoking while in hospital, to receive support once they return home. Leaving hospital is a good incentive for people to quit smoking – and NHS pharmacies will be on their local high street with advice, support and treatment to help them stub out the dangerous habit once and for all”.
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Source: NHS News, 9 March 2022

See also: Health Europa - Support for quitting smoking available from high street pharmacies ([link removed])
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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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