Tobacco Dependency
Smoking is one of the biggest causes of death and illness in the UK. Every year around 76,000 people in the UK die from smoking, with many more living with debilitating smoking-related illnesses. (NHS England)
BTS is currently running the BTS Tobacco Dependency Project (TDP). This project aims to support those who provide tobacco dependence treatment services in hospitals. This project will support clinicians through sharing information and disseminating good practice.
BTS will provide a sustainable and impartial mechanism for improving tobacco dependence treatment by supporting clinicians working in NHS services. It will be complementary to the delivery of the NHSE & I funded transformation project to offer NHS-funded tobacco dependence treatment. As such, it will support:
• Creating and support a network of respiratory clinical leads who are interested in leading their hospital tobacco dependence treatment programme.
• As part of this network, providing dedicated support to the incoming tobacco dependency advisors - who will be new to the role - with access to educational materials, QI, webinars and networking.
• Provision of resources to healthcare professionals.
• Working collaboratively with mental health and maternity bodies to provide materials and sessions tailored to the wider impact of the Long Term Plan interventions.
• Use of the BTS national audit platform to support the data collection associated with this project.
The project is aligned to NHSE&I's Long Term Plan tobacco dependency treatment programme but will be relevant to those working in this area across the UK.
The project is hosted on the Respiratory Futures website, and includes a range of resources, tools and case studies. There will also be opportunities at the Winter and Summer Meeting to promote the work.