Tag: cessation

  • Smart patch being trialled

    Smart patch being trialled

    A California start-up company, Chrono Therapeutics, has developed a smart nicotine patch that is able to deliver to the wearer a high-dose of nicotine more rapidly than is the case with traditional patches, according to a story by Jennifer Passas for PSFK.

    The SmartStop patch nicotine delivery system is said to monitor an individual’s activity and cravings so as to deliver nicotine at opportune times.

    The effect of this delivery system is to make it easier to quit smoking.

    The SmartStop delivered a high-dose of nicotine during three key times of the day, the story said. The first was when the wearer woke up, which was consistent with Chrono’s research that proved that 80 percent of smokers had their first cigarette within 30 minutes of waking.

    The second was right before lunch, and the third was in the evening when attending social events could make refusing a cigarette difficult.

    The device is made of two parts: a liquid nicotine cartridge that needs to be replaced each day, and a control unit that monitors the release of the nicotine. The control unit contains a Bluetooth chipset, battery and dispensing motor; so the device is, at about 13 mm thick, considerably larger than a standard nicotine patch.

    Chrono is reportedly working on a second model that will be about 8 mm thick.

    The goal of the SmartStop is to eliminate nicotine dependency within about 10 weeks by gradually reducing the nicotine dosage.

    The company has built into the system a way to record cravings, sleep patterns and general activity so that smokers will be able to note any progress they are making.

    Before starting the 10-week program, participants can record a video capturing the reasons why they want to quit – a video that, via an app, can be replayed if the participant smokes a cigarette

    The app can be linked also to friends and family members.

    The SmartStop is currently being trialled in the US and Australia.

  • Quit-smoking funding cut

    Quit-smoking funding cut

    A campaign is underway in the UK aimed at trying to maintain funding for quit-smoking services.

    Cancer Research UK (CRUK) says it is running the Don’t Quit on Us campaign to amplify the voice of local government in sending a message that: ‘The Government must provide councils with the funds they need to run effective Stop Smoking Services, and the media activity to make sure smokers can find them’.

    Philip Brownlie, public affairs manager with CRUK said that, over recent years, the UK had made steady progress in reducing smoking. ‘Landmark achievements like smoke-free pubs, bars and restaurants, plain, standardized cigarette packs and increasing taxes to make tobacco less affordable, have all helped encourage people to stop smoking,’ he said in a piece on LocalGov.co.uk. ‘But they have also stopped people, particularly children, from starting smoking.

    ‘To help those people already trapped in a tobacco addiction and to prevent cancers and ill health caused by smoking, support is needed to help them quit. That support exists. People are around three times more likely to give up for good when using a stop smoking service, compared to going it alone.’

    Brownlie said that councils were on the frontline in the battle against tobacco, running or commissioning stop smoking services. ‘But local authorities are facing huge pressures on budgets as a result of repeated cuts to the Public Health Grant from central government,’ he said.

    ‘Despite a supposed “ring-fence” to protect these budgets, there have been cuts of £200 million to budgets in 2015, and further annual reductions of more than £100 million a year are expected between now and 2020.’

    That’s why CRUK was running its campaign, Brownlie said.

    More than 600 councilors from more than 100 councils, representing all political parties across England had already shown their support for the campaign.

    ‘The need for action has never been clearer,’ Brownlie said. ‘Our new report carried out by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) showed that, sadly, all over England, councils are struggling to maintain stop smoking services. Three in five councils … have been forced to cut their budgets for helping people stop smoking since last year – up from 39 percent in 2015/16.

    ‘For the first time ever, the majority of councils across England are having to reduce the amount of money available to help smokers to quit. No region across England has been spared.’

    Brownlie said that tobacco control had consistently remained a high or above average priority across most regions in England. It had strong support among those in charge and virtually no opposition.

    ‘But, unfortunately, it appears that cuts to public health mean their ambitions won’t be realized,’ he said. ‘And that means the outlook for people wanting to use these services continues to worsen.’

  • ‘E-cigarettes lead to tobacco cessation, not initiation’

    Two new United States surveys have found that 15-21 million U.S. adults used e-cigarettes regularly in 2013-2014; 3.2-4.3 million e-cigarette users no longer smoked cigarettes on a regular basis; and approximately 90 percent of regular e-cigarette users were/are regular cigarette smokers. The studies—which were presented in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, from Feb. 25-28 at the annual meeting of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco—lead their authors to note that regular cigarette smokers were more likely to switch to regular use of less-harmful e-cigarettes than regular e-cigarette users were to transition to combustible cigarette use.

    The first study analyzed 30,136 people from the National Tobacco Behavior Monitor survey. Results indicated that 8.7 percent of U.S. adults reported regular use of e-cigarettes, of which nearly 90 percent reported regular use of combustible cigarettes. More than 97 percent of those surveyed in the first study reported regular e-cigarette use after regular cigarette smoking; 23.7 percent indicated that they no longer use combustible cigarettes on a regular basis; and only 1.3 percent of those who use e-cigarettes regularly reported transitioning to current regular use of combustible cigarettes.

    The second study—which analyzed data from the Total Tobacco Migration Tracker—involved 11,173 people and indicated that 6.1 percent of U.S. adults identified themselves as current, regular e-cigarette users, with more than 91 percent of those e-cigarette users reporting regular use of combustible cigarettes. More than 97 percent reported regular use of e-cigarettes after regular use of combustible cigarettes; 24.5 percent of those who regularly used e-cigarettes no longer reported regular smoking of traditional cigarettes; and only 1.7 percent of current, regular e-cigarette users reported switching to regular use of combustible cigarettes.

    The results of this study lead its authors to determine that smokers of traditional cigarettes were 13.5 times more likely to transition to current, regular use of e-cigarettes than current, regular users of e-cigarettes were to transition to regular use of combustible cigarettes.

    The studies were funded by RAI Services Co. and conducted by a team led by the company’s senior director of regulatory oversight, Geoffrey Curtin.