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Vape kits are set to be handed out to approximately 1000 patient across five different hospital sires in a trial that aims to support attendees to stop smoking.
Smokers who visit A&E in one of the participating hospital locations will be provided with e-cigarette starter kits to help them quit as part of a brand new trial. The study, which is looking to recruit approximately 1000 smokers will run for two and half years in five separate hospitals in England and Scotland.
As well as being given vape starter kits, they will also be provided with advice on quitting smoking.
This new initiative comes after research by the University of Oxford found that nicotine-based electronic cigarette devices, like the Aspire PockeX, could push up the number of individuals who stop smoking when compares to various traditional nicotine replacement therapies such as nicotine patches and chewing gum. The study also found that electronic cigarettes that did not contain any nicotine were also not as effective as those that used nicotine-containing vape juice.
Speaking about the trial, University of East Anglia Norwich Medical School professor Caitlin Notley noted that a lot of people would like to quit, but fit it hard to succeed over the kong term.
Furthermore, she said that electronic cigarettes very closely mimic the traditional smoking experience, which means that smokers are often more attracted to them than other forms of nicotine replacement therapy, and this means they can be more effective, even for people who have failed to quit smoking in the past.
She also noted that e-cigarettes are far less harmful to smokers than tobacco, which means they are a healthier option for anyone who is serious about quitting.
The starter kits will be handed out to any smokers who attend the qualifying A&E departments who would like to have one – they do not have to be attending the hospital for smoking-related reasons. It is hoped that this will help to convert more people to the use of electronic cigarettes.
Smoking is currently one of the largest avoidable cause of early death for adults in the UK, with thousands of people dying needlessly every year, which means the more people who can be persuaded to switch or quit completely, the better the population’s health is likely to be.
It is not yet known if the scheme will be extended out to other hospitals, but with the cost of smoking-related illnesses being one of the biggest and potentially most avoidable, it is likely that similar schemes could be rolled out nationwide or that other forms of help could be offered to people who are right now unable to cope with quitting and the effects of withdrawal.
As with most trials, there will be a control group who will simply be given information about giving up smoking and where they can find help. The two groups will then be monitored to see if they are still smoking every three months. The trials is being run by the Norwich Clinical Trials Unit and it will be interesting to see how it plays out.
