Millions of smokers are being denied non-pharmacutical help quitting, it is claimed (posed by model) (Image: PA)
Millions of smokers across England are being denied access to a highly effective stop smoking treatment on the NHS – creating a stark “postcode lottery” in public health provision that risks widening health inequalities. Despite guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) stating that non pharmaceutical methods must be made available through local authority stop smoking services, access remains inconsistent across the country.
A new analysis shows 42 million people – 4.4 million of whom are current smokers – do not have access to the method. The NICE guidance – part of its national recommendations on treating tobacco dependence – recognises Allen Carr’s Easyway (ACE) seminars as a clinically effective, cost-effective and cost saving intervention that should be made available to all smokers alongside other cessation options such as traditional nicotine replacement therapies.
Allen Carr’s Easyway has helped more than 50 million people worldwide and has been endorsed by high-profile figures including Sir Richard Branson, Daniel Radcliffe and Michael McIntyre. The approach consists of a one day group session, in-person or online, and focuses on removing the mental desire to smoke rather than relying on willpower and nicotine substitutes.
Anti-smoking guru Allen Carr, who died in 2006, helped millions to quit cigarettes (Image: PA)
Carr, an accountant by training who began smoking during National Service, created his philosophy of quitting and set up his first clinic in 1983. He wrote ten books on the subject and died aged 72 in 2006.
Millions credit the method with enabling them to quit smoking easily without medication, reinforcing its reputation as a mainstream, effective solution. Independent trials show a success rate of more than 40% after two years. A significant number of councils, including Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Lancashire, Norfolk, Oxfordshire, Kent, and some parts of London have rolled out the programme. But the first comprehensive analysis of local authority provision reveals dramatic regional disparities. Many areas have ignored the NICE guidance and failed to commission ACE services.
Smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death in England, and experts warn that unequal access to effective quitting support will deepen health disparities between regions.
Paul Baker, Global CEO of Allen Carr’s Easyway, said: “It is unacceptable that millions of smokers are being denied access to a recommended, drug-free, clinically proven method simply because of where they live. This postcode lottery is not only unfair – it’s condemning people to continued addiction, preventable premature death and the devastating consequences that come with both.”
“NICE specifically highlights the Allen Carr method as a cost-saving intervention, so why are some services still spending more money on less effective treatments? Every day that smokers are unable to access all NICE approved methods, more lives are put at risk from cancer, heart disease and respiratory illness. Local authorities must act now to ensure equal access, or we will continue to see avoidable deaths on a massive scale.”
Yasmine Bendraz, a 27-year-old student who started smoking as a teenager, attended an online Allen Carr’s Easyway seminar paid for by Buckinghamshire Council.
Having tried previously to give up using nicotine patches and gum, e-cigarettes and willpower, she finally quit after going through the method. She said: “Stopping smoking with Allen Carr’s Easyway felt very different to using nicotine replacements in the past. Nicotine replacements made me feel like I was still relying on something and managing cravings, whereas Easyway changed how I viewed smoking and made me feel genuinely free from it. I think all postcodes should be covered because smoking affects people everywhere, and access to effective support should not depend on where someone lives.”
Katherine Taylor, public health manager for Westmorland and Furness, which offers the Allen Carr therapy, said: “The outcomes have been fantastic. The rates are really, really high in terms of quit rates.”
Dr Vishal Rao, a leading oncologist at the Institute of Public Health in Bangalore, said: “It’s common to see smokers who have tried and failed to stop smoking several times with ‘quit sessions’ and other de-addiction techniques finally quit only after having the ‘C word’ enter their lives.
“Personally I am convinced that what smokers need is not nicotine replacement therapy but what I call nicotine displacement therapy. Allen Carr’s Easyway To Stop Smoking programme delivers just this. The positive and intuitive approach utilised in this program makes the inclination to smoke quit the smoker.”
This story originally appeared on Express.co.uk
