This non promotional meeting is organised in collaboration with Education for Health and funded by Teva Respiratory

The Big Debate: e-cigarettesAn alternative to smoking?

Louise Ross, Stop Smoking Service Manager Leicester City Council

UK/KOL/16/0003ac Date of preparation: February 2016

Disclosures

Honorarium from Teva Respiratory and Education for Health for this meeting only.

What do experts say?Leading, internationally-renowned professors, key opinion leaders in tobacco control, say e-cigarettes are a gateway out of smoking ‘E-cigarettes offer a potentially useful way out of smoking, especially for those people who have not succeeded with tried and tested methods’

Professor Robert West

University College London

What does Public Health England say?

‘E-cigarettes can effectively support quitting. Clients of stop smoking services who combined e-cigarettes with behavioural support had the highest quit rates in 2014-15.’

What do stop smoking advisors say?

‘Many of my patients with complex COPD use a vaporiser to stop smoking. One man on assessment could hardly walk, was deathly white and had beads of sweat on his face when he tried to talk. Within 2 weeks he had less shortness of breath on exertion, within 8 weeks he had been able to reduce his meds, and within 16 weeks he said he was reaping the benefits’

What do patients say?

‘I've never been able to stop smoking, even with patches, gum, counselling, Champix – this time I've not even wanted a cigarette.’‘I kept waiting for this hard bit to start, that everyone talks about – it just didn't happen’

What do e-cig opponents say?• ‘It might be a gateway to

smoking’ (Data shows it’s a gateway OUT of smoking)

• ‘It might re-normalise smoking’ (As e-cig use goes up, smoking goes down)

• ‘It could entice kids’ (There’s no evidence of this)

• ‘They’re still ‘addicted’’ (So what?)

What do the results say?Using an e-cigarette, either with or without nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), gives around a 20% greater success rate than NRT alone. It’s important, though, to be encouraging and to get smokers switching to the right kit

What do YOU say?

Louise RossLouise.Ross@leicester.gov.uk

@grannylouisa

Are you ready to help your patients switch from a lifelong smoking habit that will kill half of them, to using a device that contains NO tar and NO carbon monoxide?