Brief Advice Training for Smoking

What Is Very Brief Advice Brief advice is advice for any smoker designed to be used opportunistically in less than 30 seconds – and it works!

What is Involved with Very Brief Advice The 3 A’s Establish and record smoking status (Ask) Advising on how to stop (Advise) Offering Help (Act)

Ask You need to establish whether your client smokes or not. Clients will not resent this question. In fact they expect to be asked this question particularly by a healthcare professional There is always an opportunity to ask about smoking during a consultation. You can use whatever words feel comfortable given your relationship with the client, what you know about them. E.g. ‘’How do you feel about your smoking’’ It can be difficult to stop smoking but 70% of smokers wish to quit at any time. www.ncsct.co.uk/VBA

Advise Advise your patient about the benefits of quitting . Advise that the best way to stop is with a combination of support and treatment, which can significantly increase the smokers chance of stopping. www.ncsct.co.uk/VBA

ACT Refer your patient to the Solihull Stop Smoking Service. They are 4x more likely to quit with the service than going it alone. For some smokers it may not be the right time to stop. If so, hand them one of the service cards and advise that if they change their mind to give the service a call. www.ncsct.co.uk/VBA

Smoking prevalence http://www.tobaccoprofiles.info/tobacco-control 2013 England 18.4 % West Midlands 17.8 % Solihull 13.0 % Better than U.K average Similar to U.K average Worse than U.K average http://www.tobaccoprofiles.info/tobacco-control (Public Health England Health profile Solihull 2015)

Deaths from Smoking 2013 Adults aged 35 and over. Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the UK. Smoking related deaths = 79,700, Obesity = 34,100, Alcohol = 6,490, Road traffic accidents 1,713, Illegal drugs 1,605, HIV infection = 504.

Why Go Smoke free After ... Health Benefit ... 72 hours Timeline of health benefits after stopping smoking ... After ... Health Benefit ... 72 hours Breathing becomes easier. Bronchial tubes begin to relax and energy levels increase. 1 month Skin appearance improves, owing to improved skin perfusion. 3-9 months Cough, wheezing, and breathing problems improve and lung function increases by up to 10%. 1 year Risk of a heart attack falls to about half that of a smoker. 10 years Risk of lung cancer falls to about half that of a smoker. 15 years Risk of heart attack falls to the same level that it would be for someone who has never smoked. http://www.patient.co.uk/health/Smoking-The-Facts

Benefits of Quitting at a Young age. A study Published in the Lancet on the 27th October 2012 sampled 1 million females in the UK and found that a Woman who smokes for the duration of her entire adult life will cut her life expectancy by 10 years. (The Lancet 27th October 2012)

The Benefits of Quitting at a young age. The same study also concluded that if an adult female stops before the age of 40 she can expect to only lose 1 year of life. There was no measurable difference in the life expectancy of Females who quit before they were 30 and those who have never smoked. (The Lancet 27th October 2012)

In Conclusion The study made no mention of benefits to quality of life or the financial benefits of quitting. The main conclusions of this longitudinal study were that 2/3 of deaths in women aged 50-80 are smoking related (The Lancet 27th October 2012)

In Conclusion Smokers lose on average 10 years of healthy life Smoking until the age of 40 is still hazardous but continuing to smoke after the age of 40 increases the risk of mortality 10 fold. Quitting before the age of 30 reduces risk of excess mortality by 97% (The Lancet 27th October 2012)

What to expect at a Clinic: One to One Support for smokers on a weekly or fortnightly basis. Carbon Monoxide Reading. Access to Nicotine Replacement Therapy. Specialist service for pregnant smokers. Advice on Prescription only medication Such as Champix and Zyban. Free resources such as leaflets and guides. Texting service Free motivational texts. Referral to other lifestyle services if appropriate. Brief advice on Alcohol consumption.

Contacts for the Core Service Gill Whitehead – Administrator 0121 713 8915 Sarah Stables – Service Manager 0121 713 8917 Carrie Illingworth – North Locality Lead 0121 7174378 Jacky Yeomans- North Locality Lead 0121 7174378 Jake McGee – Primary Care Lead 0121 713 8363 Vicky Masters – Pregnancy Lead 0121 7174374 Cathy Sinton – Workplaces Lead 0121 717 4373