The challenges of providing stop smoking services in areas of deprivation

Author and presenter:
Doreen Regan
Smoking Cessation Specialist, Ulster Cancer Foundation, Belfast, UK

Abstract
The Ulster Cancer Foundation Central Service is a dedicated Stop Smoking Service funded by the Public Health Agency (Eastern area) since October 2003. It delivers a quality stop smoking service to approximately 600 smokers annually across some of the most deprived wards in the Belfast area.

Challenges faced in delivering this specialized service include clinic timings, accessible venues, weight gain, access to Pharmacotherapy, hitting target groups and in some cases client perspective. To overcome these UCF carried out the following:

Clinics delivered in Primary Care settings.
Clinics delivered outside normal working hours.
Clinics delivered in workplace settings, targeting manual workers with the provision of free NRT. During 2008/09 these clinics achieved an 83% quit rate at the 4-week stage.
To address the issue of weight gain a dedicated programmed was delivered in 2008/09. Findings from this did not conclusively show that by providing support to help minimise weight gain numbers accessing the service increased or quit rates improved.
Dedicated youth stop smoking clinics with interactive workshops and incentives for this group to stop smoking and remain quit including the provision of free NRT.
Advertising and promoting each service locally to improve client perspective.

Source of funding: Public Health Agency (Eastern Area), Northern Ireland

Declaration of interest: none