NIHR funded programme grant in smoking cessation

Summary

The National Institute for Health Research, funded a group of researchers within UKCTCS, led by Professor John Britton, to carry out research that aims to reduce smoking in hospital patients and in the wider community. Work started in March 2010 and will continue until 2015.

The programme comprises of three work areas and involves colleagues at the Universities of York and Nottingham City Primary Care Trust, who is the primary grant holder. The work explores new approaches to smoking cessation service delivery in hospitals and the community, and to prevent passive smoke exposure in children.

There are three projects:

• Evaluating a hospital Stop Smoking Service

To assess and evaluate a novel stop smoking service within an acute hospital NHS Trust.  This evaluates the impact of a specialist smoking cessation service on medical wards at City Hospital in Nottingham.

• Evaluating a mobile Stop Smoking Service

To evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a 'mobile' stop smoking service in the wider community.  This study evaluates and provides an innovative Stop Smoking Service delivered from several locations in the Nottingham area.

• Exploring the feasibility of using NRT in 'smoke-free' homes

A feasibility study and subsequent randomised controlled trial to explore the effectiveness of smokers using nicotine replacement therapy for a temporary abstinence to prevent and reduce passive smoke exposure in children.  This explores ways of using medicinal nicotine to help parents abstain from smoking in the home and therefore to reduce passive smoking in children.