World No Tobacco Day is an annual awareness day that informs the public about the dangers of using tobacco1. This year’s campaign, ‘Grow food, not tobacco’, encourages the government to end tobacco growing subsidies and use the savings to support farmers to switch to more sustainable crops that improve food security and nutrition1.
Worldwide, approximately 5.89 million metric tonnes of tobacco is produced every year2, contributing to an estimated 1.1 billion active tobacco smokers worldwide3. Bedfont‘s Smokerlyzer® range has been an integral part of the post-smoking process for over 35 years. By providing users with instant Carbon Monoxide (CO) readings and a motivational traffic light system to guide them towards their quit goals, we have helped countless individuals towards their stop smoking goals and improve their overall health and well-being.
It is reported that globally in 2020, tobacco use consisted within the everyday lives of 36.7% of men and 7.8% of the world’s women4. Within the UK, data recorded that in 2020 the proportion of current smokers was 14%, fast-forward to 2021 and that statistic has seen a significant decrease, equating to 13.3%, which corresponds to an estimated 6.6 million people in the UK who are classified as current smokers5.
A study regarding the use of a CO device to quit smoking gathered 10 smokers, who of which received a CO device and were asked to use it regularly throughout the day for 6 weeks with the aim of maintaining their CO reading below 10ppm. At the 6-week follow-up, all participant’s CO concentrations were below their baseline value; two were below 10ppm. The average daily cigarette consumption reduced from 14.1 at baseline to 9.8 during the 2 weeks of daily CO monitoring, and then 9.5 at the 6-week follow-up. Concluding that the use of the CO device was generally found to be acceptable and to increase motivation to stop smoking completely, as five smokers out of the ten attempted to quit smoking6.
The Smokerlyzer® range by Bedfont® consists of 4 handheld breath analysis devices, Micro+™, piCObaby™, piCO™, and iCOquit® – each of which tests the level of CO on a smoker’s breath, which can help them understand the harmful effects that smoking has on their body. When a person smokes, they inhale carbon monoxide, which is a poisonous gas that can lead to serious health problems. The on-screen instant results for each device, coupled with the interpretation guide provided, help patients quickly identify which traffic light system bracket they fall into. This enables them to take proactive steps towards quitting smoking and improving their health.
Visit https://www.bedfont.com/smokerlyzer to learn more about how you can aid patients to stop smoking, one breath at a time, with Bedfont® Scientific Ltd’s Smokerlyzer® range.
References:
- World No Tobacco Day [Internet]. World Health Organization. World Health Organization; [cited 2023Apr28]. Available from: https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-no-tobacco-day
- Shahbandeh M. Global tobacco production 2021 [Internet]. 2023 [cited 2023 May 15]. Available from: https://www.statista.com/statistics/261189/global-tobacco-production-since-1980/
- The global burden of tobacco – the Lancet [Internet]. [cited 2023 May 15]. Available from: https://www.thelancet.com/infographics-do/tobacco
- Tobacco [Internet]. World Health Organisation. 2022. [Cited 2nd May 2023]. Available from: https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/tobacco
- Adult smoking habits in the UK: 2021. [Internet]. Office for National Statistics. 2022. [Cited 2nd May 2023]. Available from: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/drugusealcoholandsmoking/bulletins/smokingprevalenceintheukandtheimpactofdatacollectionchanges/2020
- Beard E, and West R. Pilot study of the use of personal carbon monoxide monitoring to achieve radical smoking reduction. Journal of Smoking Cessation. 2012;7(1):12-17. DOI: 10.1017/jsc.2012.1.