September 2024
Welcome to our special Stoptober edition of the Smokefree Devon Alliance Newsletter!
Events are being held throughout Devon:
Stop For Life Devon -
"Our team of coaches will be increasing their community presence and offering drop-in hubs and information stands. We have created a social media toolkit for our partners to use and share online, if you would like to access these then get in touch on info@stopforlifedevon.org. We can also provide printed resources to services including posters and service leaflets. Please get in touch with us to discuss collaborating and supporting over the month of Stoptober. We look forward to working together!"
Your Health Torbay -
"Your Health Torbay are doing some collaborative work with the hospital TTD team. We have a permanent stand in the hospital foyer, being manned for most of October. As well as a stand in the heart and lung unit.
We have a series of “case study” style adverts going live at the hospital, as well as a substantial social media campaign. There is also a “digital screen” campaign happening across the bay."
If you want to help to support Stoptober and are looking for materials to share on social media, please access DHSC resources here - Stoptober 2024 | Campaigns | Campaign Resource Centre (dhsc.gov.uk)
If you want to find out more please contact your relevant healthy lifestyles organisation:
• Devon County Council Residents: Stop For Life Devon
Devon Stop Smoking Service | Devon County Council Stop Smoking Service Provided by Best You (stopforlifedevon.org)
0800 122 3866
• Torbay Council Residents: Your Health Torbay
Stop Smoking - Your Health Torbay
01803 422 422
• Plymouth City Council Residents: One You Plymouth
Quit Smoking | One You Plymouth
01752 437177
We are continuing successfully with our Swap to Stop programme in the Devon County Council area, and have recently welcomed Together Drugs & Alcohol Service and Devon Probation Service onboard as partners. We have also switched over to our new vape provider, Evapo, who are now able to offer 12-weeks’ worth of supply for clients.
NCSCT have created a for the Swap to Stop scheme, including briefings, myth busters on e-cigarettes, and information on Very Brief Advice+. They have also introduced an to equip you with the knowledge and skills to feel confident in delivering Swap to Stop.
If you are interested in offering the scheme as part of your organisation's work in Devon, we are hosting a webinar on the 10th October at 10:30-12:00. This webinar will give an overview of the Swap to Stop scheme in Devon, introduce our Local Stop Smoking Service, Stop for Life Devon, and our vape provider, Evapo, and include a Q&A session and information on how your organisation can sign up. To register for the webinar, click .
Varenicline Returns!
Generic varenicline will soon be available in the UK after the proprietary version (Champix) was withdrawn in October 2021.
The Chief Executive of the NCSCT says,
"The generic version, simply called Varenicline:
- is nitrosamine-compliant
- remains on the British National Formulary
- has an unchanged Summary of Product Characteristics (SPC)
- will have limited supplies, and no starter packs, for the first couple of months
The attached briefing contains further information and a checklist of what to do to make sure that you and your colleagues are prepared.
Most existing resources for Champix will apply to generic varenicline and there is no reason to deny clients and patients access whilst resources are updated.
The NHS Specialist Pharmacy Services (SPS) is currently in the process of developing a Patient Group Direction for varenicline, and for cytisine actually. As part of this process, the SPS is working with others (including national experts and organisation like the NCSCT, ASH and NHSE) to develop guidance on managing medicines affected by quitting smoking. It is hoped that this guidance and the template PGDs will be published in the autumn.
There is no good reason to deny clients and patients access to varenicline whilst this process is completed."
Devon, Plymouth and Torbay have used some of the Smokefree Generation funding to appoint a new 1.0 full time Advanced Public Health Practitioner, who will focus on coordinating smokefree strategy and policy Devon-wide. Naomi will work with all NHS Trusts across Devon to ensure smoking cessation is a priority and will help to develop new partnerships with organisations that work across all three areas; improving clarity of referral pathways and encouraging referral activity into specialist smoking cessation services. To contact Naomi please email: naomi.laws@devon.gov.uk
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Stop for Life Devon are approaching the end of their Year 1 in service. A big thankyou to all our partners who have supported our service by sharing and referring as well as collaborating with us for community engagement events. Our team of expert coaches have been working hard to establish an excellent quit rate of 75% and a total of 851 quit achieved so far. We provide not only our typical coach supported pathway for 12 weeks of free products and behavioural support but are supporting people to access the alternative Swap to Stop pathway. This offers a ‘light touch’ pathway offer for people who may not yet be ready to commit to a quit date, please contact us for further details around this offer.
We continue to develop and strengthen our relationships across Devon with stakeholders and communities and are always keen to co-create engagement events and develop opportunities to widen our reach and support where we can. With Stoptober fast approaching, we want to talk about how we can collaborate and join your teams to support our communities and raise awareness for Stop for Life Devon.
At Stop For Life Devon, not only do we support people to stop smoking, we also train professionals to provide smoking cessation and confidently deliver assistance to smokers in your communities. We have the following training sessions available to book onto now:
Online Vape Awareness Training
1st October: 10am - 11.30am
Online smoking cessation refresher training:
Tuesday 8th October: 10.30am - 12.30pm
LEVEL 2 Smoking Cessation Practitioner
training
Tuesday 15th October: 9.30am - 4pm
Okehampton Library
Please contact us at stopforlife.devon@nhs.net to sign up or with any enquiries regarding our training offers. We are also able to provide bespoke training packages upon request.
As we move into year 2 of the service in November we will soon be releasing training dates for the upcoming year.
Public Health Devon are also offering increased support for GPs and pharmacies who offer smoking cessation services and who want to increase engagement. Please contact Sandra.Allwood@devon.gov.uk if you are interested in finding out more.
The Smokefree Devon Alliance Progress report was recently completed, which shared some excellent progress made in the first year of this strategy, such as:
- Treating Tobacco Dependence pathway fully implemented in Devon and Torbay, which has resulted in an increase in the number of pregnant smokers achieving a 4-week quit.
- Creation of the Smokefree NHS Steering Group, with representatives from every trust, which is planning to collaboratively drive energy into improving the conditions in which the TTD programme operates
- Resources and support for vaping education and prevention in young people
- Implementation of Swap-to-Stop scheme in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay
- Increased capacity at community smoking cessation services (advisors and appointments)
- Expansion of NHS Targeted Lung Health Checks across Devon, Plymouth and Torbay, in partnership with local stop smoking services
- Appointment of Advanced Public Health Practitioner, who will coordinate smokefree strategy and policy Devon-wide.
The report also uncovered areas for future action for the second year and beyond, including:
- Supporting and implementing smokefree policy across all Devon trusts (NHS Smokefree Steering Group)
- Ensuring strategic join up across key organisations and partnerships continues, to further progress towards strategic priorities
- Monitoring vaping prevalence in young people and working collaboratively to prevent uptake
- Developing partnerships with organisations that work across Devon, Plymouth and Torbay - to encourage referral activity into community smoking cessation services.
- Targeted work for priority groups, such as adults with mental health conditions
- Targeted work in areas with high smoking prevalence, such as Torbay, Torridge and Exeter
The members of the Smokefree Devon Alliance look forward to continuing their impactful smokefree work and expanding its membership in its second year.
 In August 2024, the Treating Tobacco Dependence Steering group evolved into a monthly 'NHS Smokefree' forum for NHS Trust organisations (Devon Partnership NHS Trust; Livewell Southwest; Royal Devon University Healthcare; University Hospitals Plymouth; Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust), along with other stakeholders (including: Public Health leads; Stop Smoking Service leads and ICB) across Devon, Plymouth and Torbay, to work collaboratively on developing a Smokefree NHS across the county, which supports the TTD programme and goes further to embed positive smokefree culture within the trusts.
In August 2024, the Smokefree NHS Steering Group conducted a light touch CLeaR workshop (an evidence-based approach to tobacco control that every local authority and tobacco control alliance can use), to help the group to develop clear actions and objectives which will meet the needs of the trusts, supporting key areas of development identified through this process - It also identified collective improvements across communications, system, training and treatment and as a result, clear objectives and actions will be discussed and agreed by the Smokefree NHS Steering Group, ensuring continual improvement and success.
Smokefree Devon Alliance Website
We are reviewing and updating our website to improve it as a source for professionals. Welcome to Smokefree Devon - Smokefree Alliance Devon
Any comments on how the website could be improved are welcome please send comments to publichealth-mailbox@devon.gov.uk
The newsletters will be shared on our www.smokefreedevon.org.uk/ website to be accessible to all in the future. Alliance newsletter - Smokefree Alliance Devon (smokefreedevon.org.uk)
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