ASH Daily News for 25 July 2007

 

 

Below is an extract from NICE recommending varenicline (Champix) as an effective treatment for helping people to stop smoking

 

NICE has today (25 July) issued guidance recommending varenicline (Champix) as an effective treatment for helping smokers to quit.

 

The recommendation is that varenicline, within its licensed indications, is recommended as an option for smokers who want to give up smoking and should be prescribed as part of a programme of behavioural support.

 

The new guidance on varenicline comes as smokers in England adjust to the workplace smoking ban which came into force this month. These recommendations are part of a suite of guidance being produced by NICE on the most effective methods of tackling smoking and what works to help people quit.

 

Andrew Dillon, Chief Executive of NICE and Executive Lead for this guidance, said: “Having looked at all the evidence, our independent Committee considered that varenicline is a good way to help people who want to quit smoking. The guidance also recommends that varenicline should normally be provided in conjunction with counselling and support, but if this type of support isn’t available, this should not stop smokers receiving treatment with varenicline.

 

We know that around 3 out of 4 smokers want to quit. Smoking is responsible for an estimated 106,000 deaths in the UK each year, and for a wide range of diseases and conditions including cancers, coronary heart disease, impotence and infertility. Alongside our existing guidance on how both primary care health professionals and employers can help people to stop smoking, these new recommendations on varenicline provide another option to assist those who want to give up.”

 

Source: National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellent, 25 July 2007

Article Link: http://tinyurl.com/26tq8j

 

 

A new study has found that the more adverts smokers see for smoking cessation products, the more likely they are to try and give up smoking and be successful even without buying the products.

 

"We think that the reason may be that important spill over effects from advertising may be occurring, which has important implications for advertising of health products," said Alan Mathios, professor of policy analysis and management at Cornell and a co-author of the study, published in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Political Economy.

 

Mathios noted that the results of this study may also apply to other types of pharmaceutical advertising. For example, when patients discuss with their physicians an advertised drug that lowers cholesterol, physicians will often recommend such health behaviour changes as diet and exercise, creating a positive spill over effect from the advertising.

 

Using databases on the consumer behaviour habits of 28,303 current or former smokers and advertising data in 26 consumer magazines, Mathios and three Cornell colleagues explored the impact of advertising of smoking cessation products on smokers’ decisions to give up.

 

The study found that although some of the increased quitting behaviour involves buying smoking cessation products, just seeing the adverts makes it more likely that smokers will try to quit.

 

"Thus, the public health returns of smoking cessation product advertisements exceed the private returns to the manufacturers," write the researchers.

 

They also calculated that if the smoking cessation product industry increased its average annual spending on magazine advertising by about $2.6 million or 10 percent, the average smoker would see 2.1 more ads each year; according to their calculations, this would translate to about 80,000 additional quits each year.

 

In a 2006 study published in the Journal of Regulatory Economics, the same Cornell authors found that consumers are exposed to more adverts for over the counter smoking cessation products than those requiring a prescription. If all smoking cessation products were available over the counter, the two studies taken together suggest that they would be advertised more heavily and, therefore, lead to significantly more successful quits.

 

When smokers try to give up at least two thirds do not use smoking cessation products. However, in recent years at least 20 percent of smokers who attempt to give up have reported using a pharmaceutical smoking cessation product.

 

Source: Science Daily, 25 July 2007

Article Link: http://tinyurl.com/ypzq2z

 

 

A study led by the University of British Columbia suggests that students are less likely to smoke if their high schools are near stores that sell high priced cigarettes, have few in store cigarette promotions and post health warnings.

 

The survey of 81 schools in five provinces was published in the July-August issue of the Canadian Journal of Public Health.

 

It examined retail stores within a one-kilometre radius of schools in British Columbia, Manitoba, Newfoundland, Ontario and Quebec.

 

The findings “suggest that in store promotions and lower pricing are powerful industry marketing strategies influencing school smoking norms,” the authors wrote. In store promotions were defined as adverts, wall displays and signs advertising special price offers.

 

The researchers distributed questionnaires to all students in grades 10 and 11, asking them about their smoking habits.

 

They found schools where more than 20 per cent of students surveyed had smoked had more neighbourhood retail shops carrying tobacco promotions and lower cigarette prices, some as low as 28 cents per cigarette.

 

In schools where stores sold cigarettes for closer to 46 cents each, posted government health warnings and had fewer cigarette promotions, the percentage of smokers in the two grades fell below the 20 per cent average.

 

"Three out of four adolescents visit retail shops at least once a week, making the retail store a powerful venue where they can be routinely exposed to point of purchase marketing,” the authors write.

 

They note that since the study was conducted in 2004, five provinces and one territory have adopted laws prohibiting the display of tobacco products near the cash register.

 

Source: CBC News, 21 July 2007

Article Link: http://tinyurl.com/29udjh

 

 

 
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