Like the blog but don't live in London?

Don't panic if you don't live or work anywhere near the Smokers' Clinic; you can use this website to look up the nearest specialist stop smoking service near you.

Euro 2012 a smoke free competition?

The World Health Organization (WHO) wants to ban smoking in fan zones of the Euro 2012 football competition as they see it as a perfect opportunity for promoting physical activity and healthy life-style. In October 2011 UEFA introduced a total ban on cigarette smoking, selling and tobacco promotion in all facilities related to Euro. The WHO plans to introduce the same ban in fan zones but the decision hinges with cities that are hosting the championships. What do you think?

Quit Tea

Today the Smokers' Clinic recieved a generous sample of Quit Tea from a Los Angeles based company. We are yet to try it, but read more about it on their website here.

End Social Smoking With Ciggie-Free Outside Bars

From today's Metro

Tabex (Cytisine) - Part 2

In response to continued interest in Tabex, today we take a more in-depth look at this smoking cessation medication and the latest published data on its efficacy. A randomized, controlled trial of 740 smokers from Poland showed that significantly more participants receiving Tabex maintained smoking abstinence at 6 months and 1 year compared with those receiving placebo.

 

“There are still regulatory hoops to go through but I hope that before long this drug will be available throughout the world at a cost that every smoker can afford," lead author Robert West, PhD, told Medscape Medical News. 

"It should be cheaper to take this drug than to smoke, wherever you are in the world. It is not a magic cure by any means; stopping is still extremely difficult for many people. But it could save many hundreds of thousands of lives if not millions, which is quite a thought", he added.

Tabex is currently not available in the UK, but varecniline (Champix), a closely related and effective medication is available. If you are interested in quitting smoking contact us on 0207 882 8230 and we can advise on attending our clinic or provide details of stop-smoking service in your area.

More pregnant women in northern England smoke

From the BBC news website today comes a story that in a survey of 167,300 pregnant women 20% of the mothers in North East England were smokers when they gave birth, compared to 6% in London. NHS Information Centre chief executive Tim Straughan said: "Smoking can cause a range of serious health problems, including lower birthweight, pre-term birth, placental complications and perinatal mortality. East London has a dedicated smoking cessation service for pregnant women; contact Farah Desai on 020 7247 8251 x 3048.

Smokers are urged to quit for Valentine’s day

It can be hard if you are a young smoker to see the long term health consequences of an addiction to tobacco. How about something a little more immediate that young smokers can relate to? The Department of Health are urging smokers to quit for Valentine’s Day – their research shows that many people find smokers less attractive.

• 74% of 18-24 year olds claimed they would not kiss someone who had just smoked.
• 76% of 18-24 year olds agreed that smoking makes people less attractive.
• 64% of 35-44 year olds said they would refuse a kiss from a smoker.
• 47% of those polled said that if they knew someone was a smoker they would think twice about starting a serious relationship.

If you are a young smoker and are considering quitting call the Smokers’ Clinic today on 0207 882 8230.

Nicotine Withdrawal and Dopamine

Common nicotine withdrawal symptoms include feeling depressed, feeling irritable and feeling restless. These and other withdrawal symptoms along with strong urges to smoke mean often smokers relapse back in to smoking within 4 weeks of quitting. It has been recently shown that low dopamine levels occur as a result of withdrawal from smoking. Dopamine is a brain chemical messenger that is critically important in reward and motivation. According to the authors of this research, these findings indicate that medications which could help elevate dopamine levels during withdrawal may be successful treatment strategies for nicotine-dependent individuals attempting to quit smoking. Theoretically, such a treatment could help normalize any fluctuating dopamine levels from the sudden lack of nicotine, and also lessen the dopamine-influenced urges to seek out the nicotine, leading to relapse.

Chewing Tobacco

Don't smoke but chew Tobacco? East London has an excellent English and Bangladeshi speaking Stop Tobacco Project. Check it out here

Wales: Smoking in cars when children present

Another story from Wales today; a campaign to stop people smoking in cars when children are travelling has been launched by the Welsh government. If smoking rates don't start to fall they will consider bringing in a ban after 3 years of the campaign. Read full article on the BBC news website here. A lot of people have an opinion on it, there are over 500 comments already - what do you think?

Brains may be wired for addiction

We all know the people who tried cigarettes or smoked for a short while but never got hooked, and some who seemed to take to it straight away. Although it doesn't mention nicotine, a recent story on the BBC news website suggests that some brains may be hardwired for addiction with abnormalities in the brain making some people more likely to become drug addicts. They further suggest there may be something to learn in the way of self-control from those who show these abnormalities but have always been clean of drugs.

Twitter is harder to resist than cigarettes and alcohol, study finds

A slightly more light-hearted post today from the Smokers' Clinic; Tweeting or checking emails may be harder to resist than cigarettes and alcohol, according to researchers who tried to measure how well people could resist their desires. Read the article here and follow the Smokers' Clinic on Twitter!

Wales also bans Cigarette Vending Machines

A ban on cigarette vending machines in Wales has come in to place. The ban in England began in October last year. The rationale behind this is to stop cigarettes being available to younger smokers. Welsh Trading Standards published research where the majority of a group of young volunteers succesfully purchased cigarettes from the machines. However the director of the pro-smoking group Forest said he did not think the machines were being used by children because they were too expensive. Do you think it will work? Read the full article here

One-a-day smokers 'feel they quit'

More than half of smokers who light up once a day believe they have quit, according to a poll. Some 51% do not consider themselves smokers even though they have one a day, while one in eight (13%) believe they have given up but still admit to smoking the "odd one". Here at the Smokers' Clinic we know all too well the dangers of having the "odd one" and how it very often leads to more. Read the full report here or contact us now on 0207 882 8230.

Quit Smoking 101

The Smokers' Clinic likes the comprehensive resource provided by about.com and their smoking blog which can be found here. To get started call the Smokers' Clinic today on 0207 882 8230.

Plain Packaged Cigarettes?

An example of the plain packs in Austalia

An interesting article in the Guardian about the plain packaging of cigarettes. The man behind the plain packs, which are already standard in Australia, talks about the rationale of the idea and what we might expect in the UK.

More Response to Recent NRT Study

Response to the recent NRT study that the media picked up on continues. The British Medical Journal published a letter looking at the methodology of the research that can be read here with further online comment looking at the interpretations of the findings here.

Tabex (Cystisine)

A few smokers have started asking about Tabex (Cystisine) after some recent media coverage. What exactly is Tabex? Tabex is a smoking cessation medication developed in the 1960s in the Balkans. It has been found to be effective in 5 Eastern European trials and more recently in a large trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine (West et al, 2011), if you would like any further information the research is well summarised on the NHS website here. The medication may have a similar effect to Champix, but it is not yet licensed in the UK. Although an exciting possibility, it probably won’t be licensed in the UK for some years due to little pre-clinical data and the current drug regulation rules. The Smokers’ Clinic would like to emphasise that you should not attempt to buy Tabex online as you never know exactly what you are getting, but if you are interested in quitting smoking feel free to contact us on 0207 882 8230 and we can advise you the best treatments currently available in the UK.

Don't live near the Smokers' Clinic? Don't worry!

If you don't work or live within distance of the Smokers' Clinic, behind the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, London, don't despair. This link here will take you to the excellent smokefree NHS website and by entering your postcode you can find out your nearest specialist stop smoking service.

NRT Effectiveness

The media has recently reported on a study supposedly showing the ineffectiveness of Nicotine Replacement Therapies - so products like Nicotine Patches and Nicotine Gum. Here at the Smokers' Clinic we think Prof. Robert West, expert in smoking cessation and tobacco control, sums up well what is wrong with the study.

E-Cigarettes - Part 1 - Safety

More and more people are using electronic cigarettes, but they are still relatively new products and not a huge amount is known about their safety. Here at the Smokers’ Clinic we have a dedicated researcher studying E-cigarettes. Unlike normal cigarettes there is no combustion, they only produce vapour, and they have no other tobacco chemicals. Additionally they can be purchased with differing levels of nicotine, including nicotine-free. Research into the safety of e-cigarettes is ongoing but no serious risks have been documented so far. There is little doubt that they are an order of magnitude safer than conventional cigarettes. Whether or not they are an effective aide in quitting smoking is another question – to be addressed in Part 2!

Second Hand Hookah

Smoking hookah (shisha) pipes is often perceived as a healthier alternative to cigarettes due to the sweet taste. However these water pipes are even more toxic - even for bystanders. A study found that those in hookah bars who did not actually smoke the pipes still inhaled enough toxins to give them carbon monoxide levels of a cigarette smoker. "Just one night at one of these bars can be the equivalent of inhaling an entire pack of cigarettes" - says Richard D. Hurt - director of the Nicotine Dependence Center at the Mayo Clinic.

Research Participants Wanted

The Smokers’ Clinic is now recruiting for a clinical trial of matching the dose of Champix (a smoking cessation medication) to individual smokers as opposed to providing the same dose to everyone. To find out the details of this study and whether you are eligible to participate call now on 0207 882 8246.

New Year, New You?

The New Year often brings about positive thoughts and encouragement to try

something new or to make a change. If you have thought about giving up smoking
but can never find the ‘right’ time to give it a go, the New Year brings that
perfect opportunity. One of the most important aspects of quitting is that you
are doing it because you believe you can do it and that you are doing it for
yourself. However, if you live or work in the City of London or in the London
Borough of Hackney there are some initiatives running in January that may help you along the way.

Workers in the City of London will not have to pay prescription charges on any stop smoking medication for the month of January including both Champix and Nicotine Replacement Therapy. Those living or working in Hackney could have the chance to receive a £20 shopping voucher if they successfully quit with our service. For more information call 0800 169 1943.

Remember quitting on your own can be difficult so to give yourself the best chance why not see what’s available in your local area. Last January, an incredible 62% who set a quit a quit day with us successfully stopped. Go on, you can do it too!