ASH news release:  Embargo: 00:01 Thursday 31^st May 2006

ASH welcomes new drug as 4 million English smokers intend to quit

Draft guidelines on Champix (verincline) issued by NICE were welcomed by ASH, the health campaigning charity today. [1] The draft recommendations are as follows:

       Champix, within its licensed indications, is recommended as an option for smokers who have expressed a desire to quit smoking

       Champix should normally be prescribed only as part of a programme of behavioural support.

The announcement comes the day before ASH and the British Thoracic Society publish their study of attitudes towards England's new smokefree law which comes into force on July 1.

The report's conclusions include:

       Smoking could be going out of fashion with millions of younger smokers intent on quitting. One in three 18-24 year old smokers intend to quit on or before July 1st and 58% planning to quit over all. The older the smoker the less they intend to quit.

       England backs smokefree legislation by more than 5:1. 78% of those polled said they support or strongly support smokefree legislation. Those opposing or strongly opposing the law number only 14%

       One adult in four expects to go to pubs more often. 

       4,000,000 smokers plan to quit. Smokefree pubs and restaurants are offering the perfect opportunity to quit this summer for England's 10,000,000 smokers. One smoker in eight (12%) intends to quit before July 1st, 2007. A further 17% of smokers plan to quit in the first year and one in twelve plan to quit some time after that.

Martin Dockrell, Policy and Campaigns Manager of the health campaigning charity ASH, said:

“This is only draft guidance but it is very encouraging. ASH welcomes any aid to quitting that has a sound basis in science. Seventy percent of smokers want to quit and try time and again. Before long that can get demoralising but this news offers hope to the millions of English smokers intent on quitting in the coming year”.

[ENDS]

Notes and links:

[1]  The NICE guidance is available at: http://guidance.nice.org.uk/page.aspx?o=431452  

Fieldwork was conducted between 17^th and 19^th April 2007. The sample was 1,562 adults in England. This survey has been conducted using an online interview administered members of the YouGov Plc GB panel of 115,000+ individuals who have agreed to take part in surveys.

Contact: Martin Dockrell  020 7739 5902 (w) 079 49 089 636 (m) ISDN available