E-cigs are 'phenomenal' tool for GPs to help smokers quit

[Ron]

www.gponline.com/e-cigarettes-phenomenal-tool-gps-help-smokers-quit/article/1447326


Dr Roope added that e-cigarettes were a ‘very exciting area’ and 'will have a huge role to play in cessation in the future'

[Richard46]

Good news but how the hell does Dr Roope know that e-cigs are only effective with specialist support?

All evidence points to e-cigarettes being an effective tool in helping smokers to quit, experts told the RCGP annual conference in Liverpool – but only if they are coupled with specialist support

What does that even mean? The state funded stop smoking industry knows it has been totally outflanked by commercial e-cigs and smokers helping each other to switch so are now belatedly trying to lay claim to the success of vaping.

Vaping needed this kind of support when the wretched TPD and its UK implementation was being drafted and where were they then? Nowhere. To hell with them I say.

[joeten]

Smacks of jobs for the boys, and as you mention @richard46 a way to tag into the whole thing.

[DaveJ]

Oct 14, 2017 17:07:39 GMT Richard46 said:

Good news but how the hell does Dr Roope know that e-cigs are only effective with specialist support?

...

Good question. And I do agree with the rest of your comments too


An observation about "specialised support" from a very different angle.

Before I started vaping I was looking around for something - anything - to deal with the smoking that wasn't "NRT". Among other internet places, I found two very well used Aussie forums about e-cigs. Huge amount of info. Populated by people who had "been there and done that" who were welcoming and very liberal with their most useful advice (just like here!). It was their particular form of "specialised support" that:
* guided me thro the techie maze that is e-cig hardware and fluids (including the extra issues with respect to nic here)
* provided advice who and where to source stuff from
* helped with setup and use of all those bits and pieces
* were there 24/7 whenever I needed it for advice, suggestions and encouragement.

I know I'd get no such "specialised support" from any of the places Dr Roope might be thinking of.

[djs]

Super article. You are the super-news-truffle-hound Ron

I like this comment.

And evidence suggests they are used almost entirely by ex-smokers and current smokers – and only very small numbers of never smokers, she said – implying they do not act as a gateway to tobacco use.

‘The crucial message is that e-cigarettes are hugely safer than tobacco'

I too am concerned about the comment

All evidence points to e-cigarettes being an effective tool in helping smokers to quit, experts told the RCGP annual conference in Liverpool – but only if they are coupled with specialist support and complete cessation of tobacco use.

..because that gives folk the feeling that if they decided to try e-cigs they don't stand much chance without all the extra baggage of attending clinics and meetings and promising on the bible and stuff. Typical BS.

Don't get me wrong, I was 'in' cessation support when I made the switch but ultimately that wasn't why I made the switch. I would have done it regardless once I'd got out of my "E-Lites aren't working phase" of despair.

I good e-cig does the job. There are plenty of good e-cigs, just not in places like Sainsbury, Morrison and Tesco. To them, it's a product like washing up liquid or light bulbs.

[Ron]

djs Everyone knows that the best gamekeeper is an ex poacher (but only if they are coupled with specialist support and complete cessation of tobacco use.)

[Bobsbeer]

I think that Specialist Support is required for successful transition from fags to vaping and stopping all together.

However I maybe need to explain my definition of Specialist Support. I include that offered by NHS or local official Stop Smoking services but crucially the type of support available here and on other dedicated vaping forums as well. The members on here and elsewhere, not only guide you through the tangle of crap being put out by the media, but the totally baffling sight of the equipment etc and the choice of equipment. So whether that support comes from specialist official stop smoking people or specialist vaping forums/members we have to remember that only a small proportion of vapers ever go near a vaping forum, and many have only ever seen the products available in roadside convenience stores.

I was the same about 5 years ago. I didn't use a forum or other service or have any other type of support. I failed. It wasn't until I found vaping forums 3 years ago that I succeeded. So I don't think we should be so quick to dismiss the advice. I think people do need support, but where that support comes from should not be an issue.

Maybe GP's should also hand out a list of vaping forums along with the phone number for their local Stop Smoking service. People then have a choice, but I do agree that support is an important aspect on success and one we should encourage. Of course I am talking to the converted here, but we should not dismiss our role in the members success. We, and I use the collective we, have saved lives, let's not forget that.

[monty]

Peer support (eg AAEC) is used for all kinds of challenges from dieting to addiction to dealing with severe illness. It's horses for courses as to whether it's better than specialist support for a particular person. Becoming nic free - that's another matter.