Public Health Matters
Cancer Research say 2,500 cases a week could be avoided as Public Health England plugs vaping.
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by Dave Cross
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“4 in 10 cancer cases can be prevented,” says the campaign’s press release from CRUK. The public needs to cut out smoke, cut back the weight, be safer in the sun and a number of other activities.
“These new figures show that the battle to conquer smoking-related cancer is far from over," says Professor Linda Bauld, “but the declining numbers of smokers show that prevention strategies are working.”
“Obesity is a huge health threat right now, and it will only get worse if nothing is done. The UK Government must build on the successes of smoking prevention to reduce the number of weight-related cancers. Banning junk food TV adverts before the 9pm watershed is an important part of the comprehensive approach needed.”
Despite declining smoking rates, partly thanks to the boom in vaping, tobacco smoke caused over 32,000 cases of cancer in men and over 22,000 cases in women. The figures were disclosed in a landmark study released today, 23 March.
It makes it a pressing need that all, not some, quit services now welcome vaping as part of a quit strategy. Combined with the latest e-cigarette evidence review from Public Health England, Martin Dockrell addresses quit service personnel: “Electronic cigarettes have become the most popular stop smoking aid in England, with the majority of users now ex-smokers having made the switch completely.”
“We know that face-to-face support from a local stop smoking service offers smokers the most effective way to quit. Of the smokers who combine the two (the most popular and most effective) around two thirds quit successfully.”
Dockrell stresses that there are three key elements for stop services attempting to become vape-friendly:
- Recognise the potential benefit that e-cigarettes have in helping smokers to quit
- Respect the choices that clients make when considering what evidence-based methods to use for a quit attempt, including the choice to use an e-cigarette
- Operate a system of support, including behavioural support, for people who choose to use e-cigarettes to quit smoking
Employers can benefit from helping staff to switch away from smoking too, and may find that a number of the resources recommended for NHS employees provide the answer to many questions:
- Quit4Life’s website
- What does an ‘e-cigarette friendly’ stop smoking service look like?: guidance from the NCSCT and New Nicotine Alliance
- E-cigarettes: a guide for healthcare professionals: free NCSCT online course to assist health and social care professionals in supporting people who want to use ECs to help them quit smoking.
- E-cigarette safety: the facts explained: video produced by the NCSCT which discusses the current evidence on the safety of ECs
- Smoking cessation decision aid: resource from NHS Rightcare which is designed to help people make the right choice for them
Dave Cross
Journalist at POTVDave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous start-ups to develop content for their websites.
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