Giving out free vapes to people who smoke in emergency departments, together with recommendation on giving up cigarettes, might assist 1000’s extra folks give up annually, a examine has instructed.
The opportunistic method might be useful to people who find themselves much less prone to interact with quit smoking providers, researchers mentioned.
Lecturers from the College of East Anglia (UEA) performed the trial between January and August 2022 in six emergency departments within the UK.
Whereas visiting, some 484 sufferers who smoked every day had been provided temporary recommendation from a devoted quit smoking adviser whereas awaiting discharge, together with an e-cigarette starter package and referral to quit smoking providers.
A second group of 488 sufferers was given written data on the way to entry quit smoking providers, however weren’t referred immediately.
Smoking habits had been assessed six months later, with researchers providing members of the examine a carbon monoxide check to verify if that they had given up cigarettes.
It was discovered that these referred to providers and provided vape kits had been 76% extra prone to have given up in comparison with the opposite group, with 7.2% quitting smoking at six months in comparison with 4.1%.
They had been additionally extra prone to try to give up, based on the examine.
Self-reported seven-day abstinence from smoking at six months was just a little over 23% within the group provided extra recommendation in comparison with 13% within the group signposted to providers.
Smoking prices the NHS and the taxpayer billions yearly in avoidable well being and social care prices.
(Jonathan Brady/PA Wire)
Researchers mentioned that offering smoking cessation help in emergency departments ought to be thought of to “attain teams of the inhabitants that will not routinely interact with quit smoking providers however have probably the most to realize from stopping smoking”.
Dr Ian Pope, of UEA’s Norwich Medical College, added: “Swapping to e-cigarettes might save 1000’s of lives.
“We consider that if this intervention was extensively carried out it might lead to greater than 22,000 additional folks quitting smoking annually.”
Workplace for Nationwide Statistics figures present about 6.4 million adults within the UK had been people who smoke in 2022.
Based on the NHS, smoking prices England about £17 billion a 12 months because of well being service prices, lack of earnings, unemployment and early dying.
Dr Pope mentioned: “Attending the emergency division affords a precious alternative for folks to be supported to give up smoking, which can enhance their probabilities of restoration from no matter has introduced them to hospital, and in addition forestall future sickness.”
Trial co-lead Professor Caitlin Notley, additionally of UEA’s Norwich Medical College, mentioned vapes can “be a lovely possibility” to assist folks quit smoking.
“We all know that they’re much much less dangerous than smoking tobacco, and that they’ve been proven to assist people who smoke give up,” she added.
“About half of all individuals who smoke will die prematurely, shedding on common 10 years of life, and for each dying brought on by smoking, roughly 30 extra individuals are affected by a smoking-related illness.
“Smoking-related cancers, respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses severely affect folks’s high quality of life as they become old and are an enormous value burden for the NHS.”
Hazel Cheeseman, deputy chief government of public well being charity Motion on Smoking and Well being (Ash), mentioned the findings “are compelling” and ought to be “fastidiously thought of by these within the NHS and native authorities who’re planning providers for people who smoke”.
“Such a low-cost provide of help mixed with an e-cigarette and positioned the place people who smoke are accessing current care is precisely what we have to make speedy progress in our efforts to scale back smoking, significantly for deprived teams,” she added.
The findings of the examine, which was funded by the Nationwide Institute for Well being and Care Analysis (NIHR), have been revealed within the Emergency Drugs Journal.
An NHS spokesperson mentioned: “Smoking prices the NHS and the taxpayer billions yearly in avoidable well being and social care prices.
“Encouraging extra folks to quit smoking tobacco will help them to have more healthy lives.”
