The Pulse November/December 2010 - NHS Lanarkshire

18
thePulse SMOKING CESSATION NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010
HEART
ATTACK
ON COURSE: Dr Robert Mair
is enjoying life – and time on
the golf course – much more
since he quit smoking
MADE ME
STUB OUT
HABIT...
Dr Robert Mair feared he was having a heart attack
but still lit up a cigarette. Thankfully, with the support
of NHS Lanarkshire’s Stop Smoking Service, it was
his last cigarette
EVEN suffering a heart attack in his
home one night was not enough to
prevent Dr Robert Mair lighting up
what he knew would be his last
cigarette.
Thankfully, the GP from
Stewartfield, East Kilbride, survived
after being admitted to Hairmyres
Hospital’s Coronary Care Unit,
where he underwent an emergency
angioplasty.
But Robert, 46, knew his days of
smoking, which had started when he
was only 12, had to be brought to
an end if he wanted a long and
healthy future with wife Dr Grace
Campbell and children Louise, 18,
and David, 16.
Here, the former “60-a-day man”
explains how his smoking obsession
finally came to an end.
Robert said: “I woke up about
11.35pm on the 23rd of May with
crushing chest pains thinking to
myself, ‘it can’t be a heart attack,
just really bad indigestion’.
“I went downstairs for a glass of
milk and to light up a cigarette and
by then I knew it was definitely a
heart attack.
“I also knew that one way or
another I wouldn’t be smoking
again but it didn’t stop me finishing
that cigarette.”
Following the success of his
emergency operation, Robert began
the long process of rehabilitation.
As part of this he decided he had
to quit smoking.
A smoking cessation advisor visited
him in the ward to explain the
services available to help, and provide
him with 24-hour nicotine patches.
After three days recovering in the
hospital, Robert returned home and
soon attended his first NHS
Lanarkshire Stop Smoking Service.
Robert said: “I attended 12
sessions at the John Wright Sports
Centre and thoroughly enjoyed them.
“The advisors are ex-smokers
themselves and know what you are
going through.
“They don’t lie to you and tell you
it will be easy. Instead, they explain the
challenges and are very supportive.
NEW smoking cessation guidance
for Scotland produced by NHS
Health Scotland and Action on
Smoking and Health (ASH) Scotland
was published in September.
A Guide to Smoking Cessation in
Scotland 2010 is a robust, evidencebased
compendium of all smoking
cessation guidance and
recommendations derived from the
National Institute for Health and
Clinical Excellence and from
previous Scottish guidelines.
It also includes suggestions for
good practice.
Dr Laurence Gruer, director of
public health science at NHS Health
Scotland said: “The best and latest
available evidence is synthesised
into this one publication.
“It recognises that all healthcare
professionals have a role to play in
helping people to quit by providing
support and
referring them to
specialist smoking
cessation services.
“We know
smokers’ chances
of succeeding in
stopping and
staying stopped
are greatly
increased by
“I also found it very helpful to be
able to talk to the other people on
the group who were going through
the same thing.
“I would definitely recommend it to
others, and I already have, to people
who come in to see me at my surgery
in the South West of Glasgow.”
proper use of nicotine replacement
therapy and certain other proven drug
treatments, combined with intensive
personal support and advice.
“This is what the specialist
smoking cessation services offer.”
Comprising two main parts, the
guide covers how to deliver
interventions, pharmacotherapy,
monitoring and training.
Helping smokers to stop is aimed
primarily at healthcare practitioners,
and includes an accompanying
desktop brief interventions flowchart.
Planning and providing specialist
smoking cessation services is for
providers and commissioners of
intensive smoking cessation support,
including those involved in the
national pharmacy scheme.
Chief executive of ASH Scotland,
Sheila Duffy, said: “Smoking remains
the largest preventable cause of death
and disease in Scotland today.
“Fortunately, for those who
want to kick the habit, help is at
hand through our national
network of stop smoking services
available free through the NHS.
“These services offer help and
support for all smokers who are
ready to quit, and give them the
best possible chance of staying
smoke-free.
Robert continued: “I’m not
pretending that it’s easy and I do
occasionally get the urge to smoke
again but I’m determined that
there’s no going back.
“I’m still recovering from my
heart attack but having quit the
cigarettes I feel less breathless, I
New cessation guidelines published
“This updated resource
summarises the highest quality
research on smoking cessation and is
targeted not only at healthcare and
smoking cessation professionals, but
also workers in the community and
voluntary sector who can signpost
would-be quitters to services that
will help them stay tobacco-free.”
The guidance has been endorsed
by the Royal College of General
Practitioners in Scotland.
Dr John Bery of the Royal College
of GPs in Scotland said: “This
publication recognises that GPs are
integral to smoking cessation not
only in providing support and
encouraging and generating quit
attempts which in themselves may
be successful, but also in referring
on to smoking cessation services
where the chance of these quit
attempts being successful and
remaining so are greatly increased.”
The new guide replaces the
Smoking Cessation Guidelines for
Scotland 2004 update and 2007
supplement and Encouraging
Smokers to Stop publication.
Copies of the guide are available
to download from: www.health
scotland.com/documents/4661.aspx
don’t smell of smoke and I don’t
have the horrendous nicotine stains
that made me feel self-conscious
when seeing patients.
“I only smoked in one room at
home but the smell permeated
throughout the whole house so my
family are very happy I’ve quit, and
are not having to put up with
smelling of smoke themselves or
getting asked if they smoke.
“Hopefully I won’t have to
decorate as much either!”
Robert’s 60-a-day habit was also
costing him a small fortune and he
revealed the money he has saved by
quitting is allowing him to work less.
He said: “On the way to work I
was buying two bottles of juice and
60 cigarettes which were costing me
£19.42. I calculated I would have to
be earning a salary of £19,000 just
to pay for that.
“It means I can work less hours
and enjoy playing a bit more golf –
although so far it’s not helped my
handicap.”
Robert added: “Anyone who says
stopping smoking is easy doesn’t
know what they are talking about.
“It is challenging and you need the
right kind of support to help.
“But the rewards are worth it, so
I would encourage anyone wishing
to quit to contact the Stop
Smoking Service.”
Smokers in Lanarkshire can
access help and support from the
NHS Lanarkshire Stop Smoking
Service, where they are offered
advice and support in conjunction
with free nicotine replacement
therapy from trained nurse advisors.
For more information about the
help on offer, call NHS Lanarkshire
Stop Smoking Service on 08452 17 77 07
or text ‘Advice’ to 81066.