 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Welcome to the March 2008 QuitChatIn this issue:
More smokers, more quit attempts
The new focus is on normalising quit attempts and relapses, with the objective for all smokers of making repeated quit attempts until successful. This moves the emphasis away from expecting instant results to acknowledging the power of addiction and the major change that smokers need to make in order to become non-smokers. As you'll read elsewhere in this newsletter The Quit Group has increased the choices offered to smokers and also expanded its capacity to answer Quitline callers. Quitline is open for more hours and we have more staff on the phones. We want to help more smokers in their quit attempts. As a result the number of calls which aren't answered has dropped markedly so far this year. Some new technology options have also increased our ability to make contact with people who want to quit, but who aren't able to get through on the phone immediately. We have not quite reached our optimum level of Quitline staff and still have some more technology to be implemented but are hopeful that in the next two months we will be losing very few of the smokers who want to contact us. Helen Glasgow
Quit Cards ordering online at quit.org.nzAdditional Quit Cards can now be ordered online at www.quit.org.nz under the red provider tab on the front page. In the last month things have picked up considerably for the Quit Cards Coordinator, Tracey Pirihi. Over 70 New providers have ordered more cards due to the opening up of subsidised NRT distribution to doctors, midwives, nurse practitioners and other health professionals. Well over 10,000 new places for people to access inexpensive nicotine patches and gum opened up at the end of February as a result of the Ministry of Health's move. "We know that NRT doubles people's chances of staying quit, so it's great to see it become more widely accessible," says Executive Director Helen Glasgow. New email address: quitcards@quit.org.nz is the one address for all your Quit Card needs. From questions, suggestions, feedback, requests for more cards all go to this address. Patches and gum online prove popularMore than 7100 people have used The Quit Group website to access nicotine patches and/or gum (NRT) since the new online service started in October 2007. Smokers wanting to quit can now visit quit.org.nz and register their details to be sent NRT tailored to their individual needs. Executive Director Helen Glasgow says NRT online is about giving people wanting to quit more choice. She says people using the online service can also join the online quit community, receive email Quit Tips, and some people may also choose to use the Quitline. Quitline expands
This extra capacity means we answer more calls in a shorter amount of time. We need to be able to do this because of the increase in quitting messages such as those created by the new graphic pack warnings. Behind the scenes we also have a new client relationship database and a new phone system too, so we're better placed than ever before to support the needs of those wanting to quit smoking! Quitline opening hours
More Pacific staff on the QuitlineThe Quit Group has recently been fortunate to increase the number of Pacific staff working on the Quitline. “Quit's Pasifika Fono has doubled in size to 15 members in the last few months,” says Pacific Services Advisor Linda Tasi-Mulitalo. “We meet regularly and are able to support each other as well as The Quit Group's commitment to help reduce smoking among Pacific Peoples. The Fono recently started a new programme encouraging members to look after themselves with healthy food choices and activities. Another project the team is preparing involves identifying ways to celebrate success for Pacific smokers who reach their goal of quitting smoking and choosing to live a Smokefree future. Some of the new Quitline Advisors speak Pacific languages, which increases the Quit Group's ability to support smokers trying to quit who may be most comfortable speaking a language other than English. Calls to the QuitlineJanuary 2005 – December 2007 Total and NRT Online registrations to the Quitline
Note: the large increase in registrations during October 2007 is due to the introduction of ordering NRT online. Quitline caller registrations by DHB regionNote: This includes new and relapsed callers, Quit Pack requests, and NRT online orders.
Research briefsSmoking permanently damages genes Smoking causes permanent genetic damage, which explains how lung cancer can develop even in people who quit the habit years earlier, according to a National Cancer Institute study. more at www.dallasnews.com British research recommends children 12 and older receive NRT Children as young as 12 should receive nicotine patches if they have a serious smoking problem, according to the official NHS advisory body in England. The recommendation comes in a set of guidelines by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE). Children have been offered patches in trials, but this is the first time it has become official English policy. More at www.bbc.co.uk Misperceptions may stop smokers using NRT to quit A recent study reveals smokers' misperceptions about cessation treatments. Smokers dramatically underestimate the safety and efficacy of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) products for quitting smoking reveals a study of 900 adult smokers in the U.S. More at www.americanlegacy.org
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In the months since the Oceania Conference Ashley Bloomfield, Ministry of Health Chief Advisor Public Health has called for health providers to identify clients who are
smokers, give brief advice and provide cessation support or refer them to cessation services.
Over the last few years, The Quit Group has received many requests for assistance from employers wishing to support their employees to quit smoking.
Finding a quit smoking service or tobacco control sector contact will get easier from early March with the launch of an online smokefree
contacts map.
The Quitline has grown in capacity by 66% over the last four months, extending from 27 to 45 seats. We have also increased our operating hours and number of staff. 
Pue Amueli is one of The Quit Group's top Quitline Advisors, with consistently high results.
