Category: Smokerlyzer

World No Tobacco Day, established in 1987 by the World Health Organization (WHO), aims to raise global awareness about the tobacco epidemic and the preventable illnesses and deaths it causes. With the 2024 annual theme “Protecting children from tobacco industry interference,” Bedfont® hosted a discussion with Smokerlyzer® Medical Advisory Board members, Dr Amer Siddiq Amer Nordin and Dr Anne Yee, along with insights from Professor Christopher Bullen from the University of Auckland.

The discussion covered some fascinating points, looking at where the world is currently with the efforts to reduce tobacco use, and the challenges being faced along the way. The conversation looked closely at New Zealand and Malaysia.

What is happening in New Zealand?

In New Zealand, there has been a considerable effort in research and policy-making to reduce the number of young smokers; this has resulted in a drop in smoking in young people to below 5%, which is the lowest it has ever been. Whilst this statistic should be celebrated, the challenge now being faced is the considerable increase in the number of young people taking up vaping, with the majority of these people having never smoked.

Chris goes on to say that “we shouldn’t be complacent with these numbers; things can change very quickly, and we could well see a surge in the uptake of smoking again in the future.” Although New Zealand is on top of the situation currently, things need to be monitored very closely to avoid an increase in smokers.

In New Zealand, just like the UK, the government brought in legislation that anyone born after January 1st 2009 cannot legally buy tobacco products. However, Professor Bullen comments that a new government was appointed in March this year, who swiftly revoked that legislation.

What is happening in Malaysia?

Sadly, smoking remains a significant public health issue in Malaysia. However, the National Health & Morbidity Report did show a decline in cigarette use in 13-17 years-olds, dropping from 13.8% in 2017 to 6.2% in 2022. Showing a massive decrease in smoking in this age group is positive, yet, the same report did show an increase in e-cigarette and vape use in the same age group, increasing from 9.8% in 2017 to 14.9% in 2022. However, 10.8% of adolescent males were still smoking cigarettes in 2022 compared to 1.7% of adolescent females¹; it seems that smoking is still a global issue.

Should we be concerned?

Tobacco companies are always looking for ways to increase smoking; if they are not successful, they are looking to push other products into the market, particularly in countries where the regulatory environment is weak. Dr Anne Yee comments that in Malaysia, vapes are being sold and positioned with snacks and sweets, making smoking and vaping seem more acceptable.

What is being done to reduce the number of people smoking?

In Malaysia, they introduced the Control of Tobacco Products Regulations under the Food Act of 1983 in 2004. These regulations included:

• Advertising bans
• Graphic health warnings
• Restriction on sales to minors.

The Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Act 2024 has been published but is not yet operational in Malaysia, meaning sales of nicotine vapes are still available to minors. Dr Anne Yee fears Malaysia is falling behind in regulating vaping and innovative tobacco products and tobacco companies are seeing this as their way in.

Malaysia has implemented several measures to reduce smoking, such as:

• Tak Nak, the anti-smoking campaign: The campaign was started to create awareness to encourage people to quit smoking and also discourage non-smokers from starting.
• Introducing an anti-smoking program in the school curriculum: The program aims to educate and prevent young people from taking up smoking.
• Quit Smoking Clinics: Set up across the country to offer counselling and nicotine replacement therapy.

Is branding an issue?

With some brands believed to be healthier than others branding is an issue. Like the UK, New Zealand introduced plain packaging and health warning labels on cigarette boxes, whereas Malaysia hasn’t been successful with this just yet.

What can we do to assist young people who want to quit smoking?

Unfortunately, there is not much evidence on which methods are best for adolescents to give up smoking, but in New Zealand, it has been suggested that text messaging has helped this age group. It is also thought that driving the price of tobacco up will discourage younger people to start smoking as they cannot afford it.

With everything discussed, it can be quite daunting when considering all the challenges faced in trying to reduce tobacco use. Nevertheless, we should celebrate how far the world has come in reducing smoking globally, and whilst vaping is rapidly increasing, smoking combustible tobacco is currently considered more dangerous. The world should continue efforts, hoping for a healthier population and a smoke-free future.

To watch the discussion in full visit our YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/watchv=NeWDIAb9JGM&t=15s

1. NHMS Survey: Among Malaysian Teens, Smoking Rate Falls But Vaping Prevalence Rises To 15%.
CodeBlue. May 2023. [cited on 30/05/24]

Available from:
https://codeblue.galencentre.org/2023/05/25/nhms-survey-among-malaysian-teens-smoking-rate-
falls-but-vaping-prevalence-rises-to-15pc/#:~:text=The%20NHMS%20survey%20shows%20that,per
%20cent%20of%20adolescent%20females.

: The campaign was started to create awareness toencourage people to quit smoking and also discourage non-smokers from starting. Introducing an anti-smoking program in the school curriculum: The program aims toeducate and prevent young people from taking up smoking. Quit Smoking Clinics: Set up across the country to offer counselling and nicotinereplacement therapy.

World No Tobacco Day was created in 1987 by the World Health Organization (WHO) to draw worldwide attention to the global tobacco epidemic and the preventable death and disease it causes. Occurring annually, the day is marked by a different theme that aims to highlight a specific aspect of tobacco control.

What effect does tobacco use have on the world?

Killing over 8 million people a year, the tobacco epidemic is one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced. This includes an estimated 1.3 million non-smokers who are exposed to second-hand smoke_¹. Smoking has a profound impact on people’s health, affecting nearly every organ of the body and leading to a variety of diseases.

Tobacco use has a significant impact on healthcare costs and resources; some examples are:

• Increased Healthcare Costs: Tobacco use is one of the leading causes of preventable diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, lung disorders, and various forms of cancer. Treating these conditions incurs substantial costs to healthcare systems.
• Resource Allocation: The high prevalence of tobacco-related health issues demands significant healthcare resources, including hospital beds, medications, and medica personnel. This allocation of resources can strain healthcare systems, especially in regions with limited medical infrastructure.
• Impact on non-smokers: Tobacco use also impacts non-smokers through exposure to second-hand smoke, leading to health conditions like respiratory infections, heart disease, and lung cancer. This increases the number of patients seeking medical help for tobacco-related conditions who themselves do not use tobacco.

Using a CO device to assist with quitting strongly supports the improvement of end results. A study by Beard and West (2012), on the effectiveness of personal carbon monoxide monitoring, found that out of 10 smokers, “7 of the smokers reported that they felt as though the monitors had reduced their cigarette consumption… 6 smokers reported a lower nicotine dependency relative to baseline. Over the 6 weeks there appeared to be a significant decline in the number of cigarettes smoked per day²”.

With more people than ever before having access to no smoking services, the Smokerlyzer® can help people quit, significantly reducing the financial and resource burden on healthcare systems caused by smoking-related diseases. Furthermore, with a lower prevalence of smoking, there will be a reduction in exposure to second-hand smoke; ultimately, this will contribute to solidifying a smoke- free future.

It’s clear that the fight against tobacco use is not just about discouraging a harmful habit but about safeguarding the future of public health globally. Let’s use this day to commit to reducing tobacco consumption in all forms, empower individuals to lead healthier lives and continue the momentum towards a world where tobacco no longer overshadows health and well-being.

If you are thinking about quitting smoking or struggling with your attempt, please visit the NHS quit
smoking page by clicking here.

To find out more about how the Smokerlyzer® range can help aid in smoking cessation, please click
here.

1. World Health Organization. [cited on 2/5/24] Available from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/tobacco

2. Pilot Study of the Use of Personal Carbon Monoxide Monitoring to Achieve Radical Smoking Reduction. Journal of Smoking Cessation. Emma Beard and Robert West (2012). [cited on 31/5/24] Available from https://web.archive.org/web/20180721211143id_/https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/0BAC2289E42E9C31C892D54BF7980237/S1834261212000011a.pdf/div-class-title-pilot-study-of-the-use-of-personal-carbon-monoxide-monitoring-to-achieve-radical-smoking-reduction-div.pdf

Wednesday 13th March 2024

National No Smoking Day, which has occurred annually since its integration with Ash Wednesday in 1984¹, has served as an annual reminder for individuals striving to quit smoking. In the United Kingdom, No Smoking Day holds significance with campaigns aimed at raising awareness about the health risks associated with smoking and encouraging smokers to quit. The goals of No Smoking Day include promoting smokefree environments, supporting smoking cessation services, and advocating for stricter tobacco control measures to protect public health. This article aims to explore the current challenges faced by those seeking to quit smoking in the UK and educate future generations about the evolving laws surrounding tobacco control policies and the sale and purchase of tobacco products.

In 2019, the UK government released a green paper, announcing that the 2020s will be the decade of proactive, predictive, and personalised prevention², setting an objective for England to be
‘Smokefree’ by 2030 by reducing adult smoking to 5% or less³, and increasing the legal age to smoke for those born after 2008. Additionally, as of January 2024, the government has announced that by the end of 2025, disposable vapes will be banned to protect children’s health, due to how easily accessible they are. The government also plans to introduce plain packaging and restrict flavours as most vapes come in sweet flavours. 

With these new massive law-enforced restrictions that will soon be introduced in England, there are still challenges that we face with smoking  cessation including cultural, educational, social, and future challenges.

Current and Future Challenges

Cultural Challenges: 

In England, smoking rates among ethnic minorities are lower rates than Caucasian groups, but the rates within ethnic groups are often gendered with men generally higher than women⁴. In 2019 smoking habits had a large difference in sex in Asian (13.9% in men and 2.9% in women), Chinese (12.6% in men and 4.0% in women), and black (12.9% in men and 6.9% in women) groups⁵. Other forms of tobacco are more common in some ethnic groups, shisha (waterpipe) use in 2012-2013 was estimated to be frequently used by about 1% of the British population, with higher rates  in Asian (7%), mixed (5%), and Black (4%) groups⁶. The smoking cessation process can pose difficulty when people have recently immigrated to the UK from countries that had higher smoking rates where there are different legal and cultural frameworks taken to tobacco use⁴.

Educational Challenges:

To help with smoking cessation in the UK, healthcare professionals should be able to advise smokers on how to quit smoking; a short survey conducted by Hunter et al. (2019) aimed to identify the extent of smoking cessation teaching and examination in 21 UK pharmacy schools. The survey concluded that there was a lack of training on the management of pregnant smokers and mental health patients who smoke. It was documented that 11 (52%) schools taught about the management of pregnant smokers and 3 (14%) schools taught about the management of mental health patients  who smoke. Smoking during pregnancy is the most preventable cause of adverse pregnancy health outcomes, with half of the pharmacy schools teaching about this. There was also little attention given to mental health patients who smoke, pharmacists need to provide support to vulnerable populations⁷.

The limited education provided to pharmacists regarding the management of pregnant smokers and mental health patients who smoke may result in a lack of accessibility to smoking cessation support for future patients. The lack of understanding regarding the harms of smoking could lead to significant repercussions.

Social Challenges:

Smoking used to be considered as a social activity, however a 12-year follow-up study by Phillip et al. (2022) found that smokers were more likely to be lonely and socially isolated compared to non-smokers. With a sample size of over 8000, with a mean age of 67 years old, this observational study found that smokers were more likely to be lonely and socially isolated than non-smokers, having less frequent social interactions with friends and family, less frequent engagement with the community and cultural activities, and being more likely to live alone⁸.

The idea of smoking being a social activity may be a misconception, with insufficient social support can be a challenge when trying to quit smoking, as individuals not surrounded by friends and family may not find the motivation to stay smoke-free.

Future Challenges: 

As the next generation will not legally be able to buy tobacco products, this could create a gap in education and awareness. Without ongoing efforts to educate young people about the dangers of smoking and the benefits of being smoke-free, they may not fully understand the harm it can cause. While the accessibility to tobacco products is already restricted in shops, minors could still be exposed to environments where smoking is normalised, such as having a parent who legally smokes. Without continued education, the future generation might not understand why they legally cannot smoke. With tobacco prices already high and set to rise more to deter smokers, those who still wish to smoke tobacco or sell tobacco products without paying taxes can turn to the illegal importation of tobacco which is sold at cheaper rates on the black market. As of 2020-2021, it is estimated that 16% of cigarettes purchased in the UK were from the black market⁹. The number of children using vapes has tripled in the last three years with 69% of current vapers aged 11 to 17 years old¹⁰. With the upcoming ban on tobacco products and the upcoming ban on disposable vapes, there is still access to non-disposable and refillable vape kits being sold, as well as the existing black market of disposable vapes in corner shops that are illegally imported¹¹. 

Those born after 2008 may encounter different challenges related to smoking compared to the previous generations so there needs to be continual regulations, education, and support to advance to smokefree UK.

Carbon Monoxide (CO) testing: 

Bedfont® Scientific Ltd. manufactures the Smokerlyzer® range, non-invasive breath testing devices measuring carbon monoxide (CO) to help people stop smoking, one breath at a time. The Smokerlyzer® range consists of the Micro+™, piCObaby™, piCO™, and the homecare CO device the iCOquit®. All devices provide instant results with a traffic light system making CO levels identifiable to patients, whilst acting as a motivational tool to help them quit smoking. In addition to behavioural support and nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), CO devices have been integrated into stop-smoking programmes for years, used as a bio-verification tool that can identify CO on the breath (produced by incomplete combustion burning of tobacco products) and therefore confirm abstinence from traditional tobacco smoking, in addition to being used as a motivational tool for smokers.

To find out more about how you can support families with smoking cessation, visit https://www.bedfont.com/smokerlyzer

References:

1. National No Smoking Day [Internet]. UK Parliament. 2023. [Cited Friday 23rd February 2024]. Available from: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cdp-2023-0056/#:~:text=National%20no%20smoking%20day%20has,supported%20by%20Alzheimer’s%20Research%20UK

2. Advancing our health: prevention in the 2020s- consultation document [Internet]. GOV.UK. 2019. [Cited Wednesday 31st January 2024]. Available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/advancing-our-health-prevention-in-the- 2020s/advancing-our-health-prevention-in-the-2020s-consultation-document

3. The Smokefree 2030 ambition for England [Internet]. House of Commons Library. 2023. [Cited Wednesday 31st January 2024]. Available from: https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-9655/CBP-9655.pdf

4. Tobacco and Ethnic Minorities [Internet]. ASH. 2019. [Cited Friday 2nd February 2024]. Available from: https://ash.org.uk/uploads/ASH-Factsheet_Ethnic-Minorities-Final-Final.pdf?

5. Adult smoking habits in the UK: 2019 [Internet]. Office for National Statistics. 2020. [Cited Friday 2nd February 2024]. Available from: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/healthandlifeexpectancies…

6. Akl EA, Gunukula SK, Aleem S, Obeid R, Jaoude PA, Honeine R, Irani J. The prevalence of waterpipe tobacco smoking among the general and specific populations: a systematic review.
BMC public health. 2011 Dec;11(1):1-2. PMID: 21504559 PMCID: PMC3100253 DOI:10.1186/1471-2458-11-244.

7. Hunter A, Bobak A, Anderson C. A survey of smoking cessation training within UK pharmacy education. Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning. 2019 Jul 1;11(7):696-701. PMID:
31227092 DOI: 10.1016/j.cptl.2019.03.007.

8. Philip KE, Bu F, Polkey MI, Brown J, Steptoe A, Hopkinson NS, and Fancourt D. Relationship of smoking with current and future social isolation and loneliness: 12-year follow-up of older
adults in England. The Lancet Regional Health–Europe. 2022 Mar 1;14. DOI:10.1016/j.lanepe.2021.100302.

9. Outputs for April 2021 to March 2022 [Internet]. GOV.UK. [Cited Tuesday 13th February 2024]. Available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/annual-outputs-for-tacking-tobacco-smuggling/outputs-for-april-2021-to-march-2022#:~:text=The%20government%20has%20had%20a,cigarettes%20and%20hand%2Drolling%20tobacco.

10. Department of health and social care media centre [Internet]. GOV.UK. 2024. [Cited Friday 2nd February 2024]. Available from: https://healthmedia.blog.gov.uk/2024/01/30/creating-a-smokefree-generation-and-tackling-youth-vaping-what-you-need-to-know/

11. The UK disposable vape ban: Impacts and alternatives [Internet] Vape Superstore. 2024. [Cited Friday 2nd February 2024]. Available from: https://www.vapesuperstore.co.uk/blogs/news/are-disposable-vapes-being-banned-in-the-uk

Currently, in the UK, it is against the law to sell tobacco products to individuals under the age of 18. In October 2023, the English government introduced a ground-breaking proposal to raise the legal age by one year, each year. The ultimate goal is to make the sale and purchase of cigarettes illegal, gradually phasing out smoking in the country. New Zealand led this initiative in 2021 by annually increasing the legal smoking age for anyone born after 2008. This change made tobacco products less affordable and less accessible for those still permitted to smoke in New Zealand¹.

Current statistics

Smoking-related deaths are the UK’s biggest preventable killer, causing 1 in 4 cancer deaths and 64,000 deaths per year in England². The government’s proposed plan aims to alleviate the pressure, on an already over-burdened National Health Service (NHS), given that nearly one hospital admission per minute is linked to smoking, along with up to 75,000 monthly GP appointments for smoking-related illnesses².

In 2022, data revealed that across all age groups from 18 to 65+, men were consistently more likely to smoke than women. Notably, individuals aged 25 to 34 had the highest smoking rate, with 19.1% for men and 13.4% for women³. Yet for those who vape daily, the largest group was those aged 16 to 24, constituting 15.4% of daily vapers across the age range from 16 to 60+. This marked a 3.7% increase from 2021 (11.7%)⁴.

The government’s plan

According to recent statistics, smoking and vaping are predominantly adopted by younger generations and the government’s plans to prevent the next generation from smoking will benefit England ultimately. This would involve removing additional strain, money, and time on the NHS with appointments and hospital admissions caused by smoking, as well as discouraging young people from taking up vaping with future policies in place for flavours and packaging. Additionally, the government’s efforts to restrict disposable vapes aim to mitigate the environmental impact of these products ending up in landfills.

As well as the plans to increase the legal age to smoke, the government has also pledged to fund numerous initiatives aimed at supporting smoking cessation aid. This involves an additional £70 million annually allocated to local stop-smoking services, and a further £45 million spread over two years to introduce the national ‘Swap to Stop’ project. This project aims to provide individuals who are attempting to quit smoking with a free vape kit and behavioural support as another incentive to help England reach the ‘smokefree’ target by reducing adult smoking to 5% or less by 2030⁵. The government is set to intensify its measures on vaping products, introducing additional regulations on flavours and packaging to reduce appeal among children. Although vaping is intended as a resource to help adults quit smoking, the statistics for youth vapers have tripled in the past three years with 20.5% of children aged 11 to 17 years old having tried vaping at least once in 2023, reported by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH). This trend is not unique to the UK, as similar patterns are observed globally, including in Canada and New Zealand⁶. There are also plans to limit the availability of disposable vapes in the market, aiming to reduce environmental harm by minimising the disposal of these products in landfills. New research has revealed in the UK that 78% of the 138 million disposable vapes sold every year in the UK are being disposed of incorrectly, which means more than two million single-use vapes are thrown away in general waste every week, instead of being recycled correctly⁷.

Carbon monoxide devices

Bedfont® Scientific Ltd. manufactures the Smokerlyzer® range, measuring carbon monoxide (CO) which consists of the Micro⁺™, piCO^baby™, piCO™, and the homecare CO device the iCOquit®. All the devices measure CO on the breath with instant results to help motivate patients and there are many resources that can help individuals quit smoking. In addition to behavioural support and nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), CO devices have been integrated into stop-smoking programmes for years, used as a bio-verification tool that can identify CO on the breath (produced by incomplete combustion burning of tobacco products) and therefore confirm abstinence from traditional tobacco smoking, in addition to being used as a motivational tool for smokers.

To find out more about how you can support patients with smoking cessation, visit https://www.bedfont.com/smokerlyzer

Read the full research briefing on the government’s smokefree 2030 ambition for England:

https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-9655/CBP-9655-The-Smokefree-2030-ambition-for-England-Oct-2023.pdf

References:

1. New Zealand to ban cigarettes for future generations [Internet] BBC News. 2021. [Cited Tuesday 17^th October 2023]. Available from: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-59589775
2. Prime Minister to create ‘smokefree generation’ by ending cigarette sales to those born on or after 1 January 2009 [Internet]. GOV.UK. 2023. [Cited Tuesday 17^th October 2023]. Available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/prime-minister-to-create-smokefree-generation-by-ending-cigarette-sales-to-those-born-on-or-after-1-January-2009
3. Adult smoking habits in England [Internet]. Office for National Statistics. 2023. [Cited Friday 20^th October 2023]. Available from: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/healthandlifeexpectancies/datasets/adultsmokinghabitsinengland
4. E-cigarette use in England [Internet]. Office for National Statistics. 2023. [Cited Friday 20^th October 2023]. Available from: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/healthandlifeexpectancies/datasets/ecigaretteuseinengland
5. The Smokefree 2030 ambition for England [Internet]. House of Commons Library. 2023. [Cited Friday 20^th October 2023]. Available from: https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-9655/CBP-9655-The-Smokefree-2030-ambition-for-England-Oct-2023.pdf
6. Creating a smokefree generation and tackling youth vaping: what you need to know [Internet] GOV.UK. 2023. [Cited Friday 20^th October 2023]. Available from: https://healthmedia.blog.gov.uk/2023/10/12/creating-a-smokefree-generation-and-tackling-youth-vaping-what-you-need-to-know/
7. Single use vapes spark surge in blazes as three dumped every second [Internet]. Zurich. 2023. [Cited Friday 20^th October 2023]. Available from: https://www.zurich.co.uk/news-and-insight/single-use-vapes-spark-surge-in-blazes-as-three-dumped-every-second#:~:text=Research%20released%20today%20by%20public,thrown%20away%20improperly%20every%20week.

In the UK, the National Health Service (NHS) revealed a promising trend in smoking rates among pregnant women during the 2021-2022 period. At the time of birth, the smoking rate hit a historic low of 9.1%, marking a notable drop from the 2019 rate of 10.6%¹.

In Somerset, a smoking cessation pregnancy programme called Mums2Be Smokefree had to replace all in-person appointments with telephone support in 2020 due to COVID-19. In 2021, face-to-face appointments were reinstated but the number of sessions had been reduced. This led to the creation of a 12-month pilot study spanning from April 2021 to April 2022, which included the iCOquit® Smokerlyzer®, a personal Bluetooth® carbon monoxide (CO) device manufactured by Bedfont® Scientific Ltd. There were 58 participants, aged 18 to 30 years old, enrolled in the pilot study and each person was issued an iCOquit® device through Mums2Be Smokefree. They were given the device either at 4 weeks (34%) or 12 weeks (66%) into their pregnancy, followed by a semi-structured survey to evaluate the effectiveness of the iCOquit® device from the patient’s perspective.

Study’s finding for iCOquit® and CO testing

Face-to-face CO readings were conducted to validate quit rates, and no discrepancies were reported. At 4 weeks, an impressive 96.55% of participants had successfully quit smoking, and at 12 weeks into the smoking programme, 94.83% of patients had quit smoking.

The implementation of the iCOquit® device not only tracked quit attempts but also significantly minimised the loss of follow-up appointments, with 1.72% at the 12-week mark. The voucher incentive plan for those who quit smoking increased by 828.95% (from 38 to 353 vouchers) from 2020 to 2021. The pilot study resulted in a 26.79% increase in attendance to first appointments with the Mums2Be Smokefree programme. With specific spikes of 15.35% at 4 weeks, and 3.47% at 12 weeks.

Study’s impact on CO testing

The outcomes of the study highlighted the impactful role of iCOquit® in equipping patients with the skills to quit smoking and maintain their journey throughout their pregnancy and post-partum when they were unavailable to meet face-to-face with their smoking practitioner.

Of the participants, half engaged in a brief survey focused on iCOquit®. When asked, “How helpful do you feel the iCOquit® has been to support you not smoking”, respondents expressed a high level of satisfaction, with 55.2% finding iCOquit® very helpful and 41.4% considering it somewhat helpful. When asked, “In what (if any way) did you find the iCOquit® useful to support you not smoking”, 51.72% found the visual results on the phone were supportive of their quit, 31% found the motivation to quit helped them most, 13.8% found the ease of monitoring efficiency at home most helpful, and 3.45% answered goal setting.

The consensus between participants and smoking practitioners on the value of iCOquit® is clear. Providing instant results accessible from anywhere, iCOquit® has not only empowered participants but also streamlined face-to-face appointments with smoking practitioners. The successful integration of iCOquit® into the practices of Mums2Be Smokefree further underscores its significance in enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of smoking cessation support.

“The combination of the ICOquit® and an advisor (Stop Smoking Practitioner) is what helped me to quit”

(Service user, 2022)

With an easy-to-use, handheld, home CO device, Bedfont® can help users become smoke-free with instant results shown by a motivational traffic light system. The iCOquit® also offers the ability to take a reading anytime, anywhere, allowing a practitioner to offer remote motivation and sustained support. To find out more about how you can support patients with smoking cessation, visit https://www.icoquit.com/

Read the full Evaluation Report here:

https://fabnhsstuff.net/storage/iCO-Monitor-Evaluation-Report-FINAL-12082022-643fa275e1b5d.pdf

References:

1. NHS helps thousands of pregnant smokers kick the habit [Internet] NHS England. 2022. [Cited Monday 9^th September 2023]. Available from: https://www.england.nhs.uk/2022/07/nhs-helps-thousands-of-pregnant-smokers-kick-the-habit/

World No Tobacco Day is an annual awareness day that informs the public about the dangers of using tobacco¹. This year’s campaign, ‘Grow food, not tobacco’, encourages the government to end tobacco growing subsidies and use the savings to support farmers to switch to more sustainable crops that improve food security and nutrition¹.

Worldwide, approximately 5.89 million metric tonnes of tobacco is produced every year², contributing to an estimated 1.1 billion active tobacco smokers worldwide³. Bedfont‘s Smokerlyzer^® range has been an integral part of the post-smoking process for over 35 years. By providing users with instant Carbon Monoxide (CO) readings and a motivational traffic light system to guide them towards their quit goals, we have helped countless individuals towards their stop smoking goals and improve their overall health and well-being.

It is reported that globally in 2020, tobacco use consisted within the everyday lives of 36.7% of men and 7.8% of the world’s women⁴. Within the UK, data recorded that in 2020 the proportion of current smokers was 14%, fast-forward to 2021 and that statistic has seen a significant decrease, equating to 13.3%, which corresponds to an estimated 6.6 million people in the UK who are classified as current smokers⁵.

A study regarding the use of a CO device to quit smoking gathered 10 smokers, who of which received a CO device and were asked to use it regularly throughout the day for 6 weeks with the aim of maintaining their CO reading below 10ppm. At the 6-week follow-up, all participant’s CO concentrations were below their baseline value; two were below 10ppm. The average daily cigarette consumption reduced from 14.1 at baseline to 9.8 during the 2 weeks of daily CO monitoring, and then 9.5 at the 6-week follow-up. Concluding that the use of the CO device was generally found to be acceptable and to increase motivation to stop smoking completely, as five smokers out of the ten attempted to quit smoking⁶.

The Smokerlyzer^® range by Bedfont^® consists of 4 handheld breath analysis devices, Micro^+™, piCO^baby™, piCO^™, and iCOquit^® – each of which tests the level of CO on a smoker’s breath, which can help them understand the harmful effects that smoking has on their body. When a person smokes, they inhale carbon monoxide, which is a poisonous gas that can lead to serious health problems. The on-screen instant results for each device, coupled with the interpretation guide provided, help patients quickly identify which traffic light system bracket they fall into. This enables them to take proactive steps towards quitting smoking and improving their health.

Visit https://www.bedfont.com/smokerlyzer to learn more about how you can aid patients to stop smoking, one breath at a time, with Bedfont^® Scientific Ltd’s Smokerlyzer^® range.

References:

1. World No Tobacco Day [Internet]. World Health Organization. World Health Organization; [cited 2023Apr28]. Available from: https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-no-tobacco-day
2. Shahbandeh M. Global tobacco production 2021 [Internet]. 2023 [cited 2023 May 15]. Available from: https://www.statista.com/statistics/261189/global-tobacco-production-since-1980/
3. The global burden of tobacco – the Lancet [Internet]. [cited 2023 May 15]. Available from: https://www.thelancet.com/infographics-do/tobacco
4. Tobacco [Internet]. World Health Organisation. 2022. [Cited 2nd May 2023]. Available from: https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/tobacco
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