Primary survey: highlights from this issue

‘Free vapes given to smokers at hospitals could help thousands quit, study suggests.’ And ‘Calls for free vapes to be handed out in emergency departments.’ These were the headlines describing this month’s Editor’s Choice, the Cessation of Smoking Trial in the Emergency Department (COSTED), when it was published on-line in March. Of course COSTED wasn’t just about vapes. This randomised, controlled study conducted by Pope and colleagues at 6 UK emergency departments (ED) recruited patients attending for any reason who smoked daily. Intervention patients received 15 min of face-to-face smoking cessation counselling in the ED, an e-cigarette starter kit and instructions, and referral to a local NHS smoking cessation service. Controls received written information about a local NHS stop smoking service but were not directly referred. The headlines tell the tale (more abstinence in the intervention group), but the study sparked some other questions for us. Is it a good...
Source: Emergency Medicine Journal - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tags: Highlights from this issue Source Type: research