PCRS-UK believes that treating tobacco dependency is the business of every healthcare professional. This is because treating tobacco dependency is the single most cost-effective intervention for the prevention of smoking-related disease and for smokers who have smoking-related diseases.

NHS England has launched the NHS Smokefree Pledge, an update to the NHS Statement of Support for Tobacco Control.

The annual Stoptober campaign in England is embracing e-cigarettes for the first time and will feature vaping in its TV adverts.

People living with respiratory disease require a significant amount of support, guidance and intervention to manage their condition effectively. These interventions need to be delivered by clinicians with an appropriate level of expertise in this field.

PCRS-UK welcomes the Government’s new Tobacco Control Plan for England, “Towards a Smokefree Generation”, published this week. By 2022 the plan aims to:

The 1st July 2017 marks the tenth anniversary of the most important public health reform in generations – the ending of smoking in enclosed public places in England. This would be a great opportunity to focus on helping your patients to quit smoking.

A new position statement on treating tobacco dependency in primary care has been published by the International Primary Care Respiratory Group (IPCRG). The paper reinforces the key messages of the PCRS-UK tobacco dependency campaign which are:

World No Tobacco Day is a day designated by the World Health Organisation to highlight the health and additional risks associated with tobacco use.

In this document, first published in the Autumn 2016 issue of Primary Care Respiratory Update and updated in 2018, PCRS-UK provides information on supporting smokers to quit, and how knowing and using the interventions available are the responsibility of all healthcare professionals

PCRS-UK is campaigning for healthcare professionals to view tobacco dependency as a long term relapsing condition that starts in childhood.

Practical input is needed from primary care to ensure that the new data standards will work in practice so please take some time to fill in the survey New national data standards on tobacco use would:-

This short guide from the Primary Care Respiratory Update, Getting the Basics Right" series provides an essential update from Dr Noel Baxter on why a carbon monoxide test is an essential part of a GP and practice nurses's toolkit and valuable motivational tool for smokers

In this article published in the Autumn issue of Primary Care Respiratory Update Fran Robinson talks to the PCRS-UK Tobacco Dependency Campaign Group about the role of the healthcare professional in treating tobacco dependency as a long-term relapsing condition that starts in childhood.

In this article for Primary Care Respiratory Update Fran Robinson talks to Sonia Simkins, Practice Manager in Rowley Regis on her innovative in-house stop smoking clinic which has helped free up clinical time and reduce unplanned admissions.  

In this article for Primary Care Respiratory Update Noel Baxter discusses why a carbon monoxide test is an essential part of a GP and practice nurse's kit.