Welcome to the Smokefree Devon Alliance Newsletter
As always, please share any information you would like to see included in future editions.
Newsletter Headlines:
- Smoking and COVID-19
- Vapes for Vulnerably Housed: Pilot Project
- Mental Health: Webinar and Health Matters
- Smokefree Devon Alliance Learning from COVID-19
Smoking and COVID-19
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Never has there been a more important time for smokers to be supported to quit.
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What do we know about smoking?
There is a wealth of evidence on how tobacco smoke harms health. Here are some facts to consider during these times:
- Smoking damages the lungs and weakens the immune system.
- Quitting smoking delivers immediate benefits which reduce a person’s risk from infections, and particularly respiratory infections.
- Recovery from ill health is quicker for non-smokers than smokers
- People who smoke are more likely to develop health conditions that require hospital care
- A reduction in the number of smokers in the UK will help ease pressure on the NHS
- Quitting smoking can help people save money and lift households out of poverty.
- Secondhand smoke in the home and other enclosed spaces poses a risk to others, increasing the likelihood that those exposed will need hospital treatment. There is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke.
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Unborn children and babies are particularly at risk of secondhand smoke; it can cause miscarriage and stillbirth, sudden infant death, meningitis, middle ear disease, and both causes and exacerbates respiratory diseases like asthma.
- It is a common belief that smoking helps people to relax. In reality, smoking increases anxiety and tension and quitting has been shown to boost mental health and wellbeing.
- People who receive support from a stop smoking advisor alongside nicotine replacement therapy or medication are three times more likely to stop for good.
The evidence around the relationship between smoking and COVID-19 specifically is still emerging and is unfortunately confounded by poor recording of smoking status.
So, what do we know about COVID-19 and smoking?
This is updated every two weeks and provides a useful overview of the evidence as it emerges. Currently it concludes there is substantial uncertainty about the associations of smoking with COVID-19.
- COVID-19 is an infectious disease that primarily attacks the lungs. Smoking impairs lung function making it harder for the body to fight off coronaviruses and other diseases.
- A review of studies by public health experts convened by WHO on 29 April 2020 found that smokers are more likely to develop severe disease with COVID-19, compared to non-smokers.
- WHO urges researchers, scientists and the media to be cautious about amplifying unproven claims that tobacco or nicotine could reduce the risk of COVID-19. There is currently insufficient information to confirm any link between tobacco or nicotine in the prevention or treatment of COVID-19.
- WHO is constantly evaluating new research, including research that examines the link between tobacco use, nicotine use, and COVID-19.
- Smoking causes damage to the lungs and airways and harms the immune system, reducing your ability to fight infection. Smoking also involves repetitive hand-to-face movements, which increase the risk of viruses entering the body.
- If you smoke, you generally have an increased risk of contracting respiratory infection and of more severe symptoms once infected. COVID-19 symptoms may, therefore, be more severe if you smoke.
- People who are exposed to secondhand smoke are also at generally increased risk of harm to their lungs and hearts. Children are especially at risk when exposed to secondhand smoke as they have less well-developed airways, lungs and immune systems.
- Stopping smoking will bring immediate benefits to your health, including if you have an existing smoking-related disease. This is particularly important for both you and for our NHS at a time of intense pressure on the health service.
- 550,000 smokers have tried to quit due to concerns over COVID-19 and 2.4 million have cut down on the amount they smoke.
- We need to make sure these people can receive the support that is available to them in Devon.
Regardless of the uncertainty around COVID-19 specifically, as our county starts to recover, it is clear that supporting people to quit smoking is more important than ever, to improve physical and mental health, and reduce financial pressures.
Please think about what your role in this important cause might look like, no matter how big or small. As an Alliance, if we can all focus even a small amount of energy on this agenda, we can make a real difference.
Vapes for Vulnerably Housed: Pilot Project
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In response to risks identified during the COVID-19 outbreak, Public Health Devon started a pilot project to provide free vape starter kits to people vulnerably housed in Devon. Concerns were being reported around low adherence to social distancing in communal areas, the sharing of cigarettes between individuals, the smoking of cigarette butts off the floor, and the risk of eviction from smokefree temporary accommodation.
One Small Step can provide free vape kits to this group, in addition to their standard offer of nicotine replacement therapy or medication, alongside behavioural support.
Eligibility criteria:
Adults (aged 18+) in emergency/temporary accommodation with history of rough sleeping, or those that have been housed during the COVID-19 outbreak. This could include:
- Those housed due to the COVID-19 outbreak as part of 'Everyone In'
- People with a history of rough sleeping in shared temporary accommodation including hostels, hotels and B&Bs
- Those housed during the COVID-19 outbreak due to statutory duties e.g. pregnant women and families with dependent children, prison leavers
- People in temporary accommodation and shielding
There are only a limited number of vapes available during this pilot so the criteria will be regularly reviewed.
Process details:
Feedback so far has been positive!
Please do share this information with anyone in contact with these client groups, so the vapes can support those who need them most.
 Smoking and Mental Health
People with poor mental health die on average 10 to 20 years earlier than the general population, and smoking is the biggest cause of this life expectancy gap.
Earlier this year, PHE released a Health Matters edition on smoking and mental health.
The call to action included:
- All mental health trusts should have an effective smokefree policy, ensure staff training on tobacco dependence, have a clear referral pathway into stop smoking services, and offer NRT and varenicline to smokers
- All mental health practitioners should routinely support quitting smoking, including asking patients if they smoke, recording this data and using tobacco dependence treatment pathways (e.g. referring to stop smoking services).
Work to support this group of people to go smokefree is increasingly important as we consider the huge impact the COVID-19 outbreak has had on inequalities in Devon, as well as the importance of smokefree for increasing resilience against the virus.
A recent webinar run by ASH on the opportunities for driving down smoking prevalence among people with mental health problems in the context of COVID-19 can be watched back here.
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