Thread by @SimonGilbody

Supporting people who use mental health services and want to quit smoking. Are behvioural interventions effective?🧵🧵
New #OpenAccess paper alert in Addiction @addictionjournal

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ad…

TL:DR Yes. Absolutely. We now have sufficient trial-based evidence to show that a behavioural intervention should be offered as part of an effective quit smoking service.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ad…

Lots of people who use mental health services are smokers. As with many smokers, there is a strong interest in quitting, and it is important we offer people the best help if this is what they want to do.

The drugs do work. really well. NRT and varenicline are effective and safe. There is a £0 review of ‘what works’? just here. rdcu.be/cA6kB

So should we just offer meds, or is there more we can do? We know that engagement & uptake are pretty low for people who use mental health services, and unsupported quit attempts usually end in failure.....

the mighty @dr_know explores this in a great qual paper in @BMCPsychiatry rdcu.be/cA6jg

From a policy perspective, this is a really important question. Since the #NHS wants to tackle the epidemic of smoking in mental health services in the #LongTermPlan, and evidence should inform this rollout. @AshOrgUK @LeicesterLungs

So the takehome message is that to give someone the best chance of quitting, it is essential to offer pharma support alongside a behavioural intervention, based on evidence-based #EffectiveBehaviourChangeTechniques. @RobertWest will agree with this.

So how should we make this happen? @NCSCT have great resources to ensure that an effective behavioural intervention can be offered as part of a quit smoking service

In the #SCIMITAR trial, which was included in the review, we have adapted the @NCSCT materials to make them work for people who use mental health services. Read about #SCIMITAR in @LancetPsych here:
thelancet.com/journals/lanps…

Thanks to @SpanakisPanos who led this review, and @NIHR_ARC_YH & @CTGNetworkUK who supported our work.

Shout out to grt colleagues have been working in this important but challenging area in recent years. @GemmaMJTaylor @UCL_TARG @KingsNRG @Sharon_Acox @HuddlestoneLisa @ElenaRatschen

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