Vapouround magazine VM16 | Page 72

FEATURE

FEATURE

STREETS

BEHIND

E-cigarettes could significantly improve the lives of the UK ’ s growing homeless population
Smoking rates are at an all-time low . As of 2016 , 15.5 % of adults in the UK smoked – down from 17.2 % the previous year . For many of us , smoking has all but disappeared from our lives . The smokers crammed into shelters up and down the country seem to dwindle by the day .
However smoking rates among certain groups remain stubbornly high . More than 80 % of prisoners in the UK smoke and more than half of people with serious mental illnesses smoke – almost three times the rest of the population .
There is another group that is significantly over-represented in the statistics – the homeless community . Homeless Link , who work directly with people who become homeless in England , put the current figure at a staggering 78 %.
Many homeless people report being smokers before they ended up on the streets and the harsh realities of surviving without a home are far from conducive to smoking-cessation . 80 % of homeless people self-reported mental health problems , and 45 % were diagnosed – a figure twice that of the rest of the population .
The reasons why homeless people smoke are broad and complex . But on a simple level we know that smoking is harmful to physical and mental health and is likely to have a significant impact on rough-sleepers who are already exposed to myriad potential health problems .
A new Canadian study aims to find out whether e-cigarettes could be used to help homeless people stop smoking . Dr Smita Pakhalé , assistant professor at the University of Ottawa ’ s School of Epidemiology , Public Health and Preventative Medicine will conduct the investigation where 200 homeless people will be enrolled in a randomised controlled trial .
One group will receive traditional Nicotine Replacement Therapy ( NRT ), such as nicotine patches , gum and inhalers . The other group will use e-cigarettes . All participants will have access to nursing and peer support .
“ We ’ re trying to understand if e-cigarettes can be in our toolbox since they have some features that could be attractive : They can deliver calculated doses of nicotine in an inhaled fashion and secondly , they can give smokers that hand-to-mouth gesture that they crave ” Dr . Pakhalé said .
A previous Ottawa public health study revealed that 96 % of the homeless population smoked , compared to just 9 % of the general population .
“ It means the people who smoke today are mostly low-income , indigenous , homeless , poorly educated , marginalised ,” Pakhalé said .
If successful , the study could provide a template for NHS stopsmoking services to build upon . However , in England in 2017 , budgets for stop-smoking services were cut by 50 %, following local authority funding cuts of 59 % in 2016 and 39 % in 2015 , as revealed in Cancer Research UK and ASH ’ s ‘ Feeling the Heat : The Decline of Stop Smoking Services in England ’ report . George Butterworth , Cancer Research UK ’ s senior policy manager , said :
“ National decisions to cut public health funding are having an impact on the ground . A growing number of local areas no longer have treatment available for all smokers that meets the necessary standards .” Research shows that around half of homeless smokers surveyed had been offered help to stop smoking but did not take up the offer .
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