Tobacco News

Perhaps pharmacy smoking cessation services are working with one hand tie behind their backs.
There are a number of issues I can think of that may be hindering the success rate of patients who use pharmacy;

Are these a less committed cohort of patients? We tend to opportunistically select patients who might be browsing the NRT products, or who we highlight during an MUR.
A little different from the COPD patient in the GPs surgery, getting yet another prescription for anitbiotics.
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Quitting smoking is not an easy thing to do.

Even with moral support and nicotine patches, it usually takes people five or six times before they quit for good, said Timea Taylor is a tobacco reduction counsellor with Alberta Health Services (AHS)

She said that quitting isn’t an easy thing to do, but it can be made easier with some helpful tools. “Technology has allowed us a variety of methods to choose from when trying to quit smoking,” she said. “This allows people to choose the method that best fits with their lifestyle.” Ream more »

A SCHOOL in the district is helping its pupils to quit smoking by giving out advice and stop-smoking aids that include nicotine patches.

Robert Smyth Academy in Burnmill Road is offering the sessions and aids to all pupils at its school regardless of their age.

The legal age for buying cigarettes is 18.
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Quitline has been inundated with calls from people in Taranaki wanting to ditch the durries.

Since January 1, 95 people in the region have registered wanting to kick the habit but it’s not yet clear whether cost or conscience is the motivator.

Cigarette prices jumped by 10 per cent on January 1 – the last of the Government’s three-phased tobacco tax increases announced in April 2010. This brings an average pack of 20s to just under $15.
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THERE are plenty reasons to give up smoking – from the impact on your health to the sheer cost – and of course that stale smell on your clothes.
But even if that’s not enough, many do so for their kids’ sake.
Doctors recently called for people to be banned from lighting up in cars because of the dangers of passive smoking to their passengers – especially children.
The British Medical Association called for the extension of the ban on smoking in public places after it was found toxins in a car can be 23 times greater than in a smoky bar. Ream more »

A new study suggests cigarette smokers who quit after using over-the-counter medication such as nicotine patches are just as likely to relapse as smokers who go “cold turkey,” casting fresh doubt on the effectiveness of such products.

The finding, from a survey of several hundred smokers, could heighten U.S. smoking-policy debates at a time when the federal health-care overhaul is widening eligibility for cessation medication but states are slashing funding for public-service announcements and telephone quit lines. Ream more »

Randy Ellison has been smoking cigarettes on and off since he was 14. He’s tried to kick the habit multiple times, but had nearly given up on trying to quit.
But after being hospitalized for 19 days due to congested heart failure, the 51-year-old Meriden resident decided that it’s time to quit smoking.
“They said that if I didn’t quit, I’d die,” he said.
Doctors gave Ellison a prescription for the nicotine patch, but he neglected to buy it after he saw the price of one box. Ream more »

A Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) program supported by Four Villages Community Health Centre to help smokers quit will take place in January.

Smokers from across the province will have the opportunity to enroll in the STOP (Smoking Treatment for Ontario Patients) program and will receive nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) free of charge to help in their attempt to quit smoking.
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Philadelphia is handing out a holiday stocking stuffer that could save lives.
Adult smokers can get a month’s supply of nicotine replacement patches to help curb cravings.
Health commissioner Donald Schwarz said people often rely on stop-smoking aids for longer than 30 days.
“There’s a step down process, so this gets people started, and we know that once started that people –by a month–should be feeling the benefits,” he said. Ream more »

Insurance companies have put forward a proposal to charge a higher premium for covering smokers as a new form of motivator for individuals to quit their cigarette habit.
WalMart is among the organizations spearheading this effort to make it more expensive for smokers to obtain health insurance coverage. However, whether or not it is right for medical insurance to make this choice is just as important as whether or not people will actually take control over their own health risks and stop their smoking habit. Ream more »