Smoking campaigns

The last few months have seen a flurry of campaigns encouraging smokers to quit.  At the start of the year there was a national campaign using quit cards.

The regional TV and radio campaign kicked off around Valentine's Day with hearts featured across social media.  The campaign runs until mid April.

Look out for billboards around the county.

March featured No Smoking Day with all Devon libraries offering local leaflets on where smokers could access free NHS support to quit.

E-cigarettes update

Read the latest news on e-cigarettes here

Passive smoking causes irreversible damage to children's arteries

Exposure to second-hand smoke in childhood causes irreversible damage to children's arteries - increasing their risk of heart attacks or strokes when they grow up. This latest study was the first to follow children through to adulthood to look at links between exposure to parents' smoking and thickness of the innermost two layers of the arterial wall, known as carotid intima-media thickness (IMT). Scientists used ultrasound to measure the thickness of the children's artery walls once they had reached adulthood.  The results showed that carotid IMT in adulthood was 0.015 millimeters thicker in those exposed to both parents smoking than in those whose parents did not smoke. More

Stop Smoking Services update

Leaflets
Download leaflets giving locations of local NHS Stop Smoking Services in Devon, or email Lesley Thomas if you would like large quantities of them

Briefings
Smoking Cessation Advisers will find these useful:

• ASH Briefing on electronic cigarettes

• ASH Briefing on standard packaging

• Factsheet:  Secondhand smoke 
  

• Factsheet:  How smoking affects the way you look

Testimonial Campaign
Smokefree South West is planning a campaign to tell the story of a smoker/ex-smoker who is now terminally ill. A briefing is here. If you think you know of such a person please contact Lesley Thomas   

An expert’s guide to quitting
The SmokeFree Formula: A Revolutionary Way to Stop Smoking Now by  Professor Robert West  advises people on how to combine different techniques to quit smoking.  This book is recommended by national experts and is useful for Stop Smoking Advisers and smokers

Children and Young People

The Government has voted firmly in favour of standardised packaging, proxy purchasing, age of sale to be 18 years for e-cigarettes, and to prohibit smoking in cars with children.  This will require further regulation but the Prime Minister has pledged to proceed with smoking in cars under a Children and Families Bill amendment.
More information