Pharmacy leaders are urging the sector to get behind a national smoking cessation campaign by handing out new NHS Quit Cards to customers.

The campaign, which Public Health England will launch in the new year, will use colourful cards to measure how addicted an individual is to smoking through a series of questions, and suggest six ways to help them quit.

The cards, which are available to order from this week, include details about an NHS ‘smokefree' smartphone app, how to receive advice from stop smoking advisors and the best medicines available to help smokers quit.

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	PSNC stressed that 75 per cent of England's pharmacies had supported a similar stop smoking campaign last year and urged the sector to continue its support. Royal Pharmaceutical Society director Howard Duff said pharmacists could use the cards to help smokers "take their first steps" towards giving up.

Mark Collins, director of operations at East Lancashire LPC, told C+D he would be encouraging all pharmacies within his LPC to support the campaign. "Our experience from the Stoptober campaign demonstrated a significant influx of new quitters," he said yesterday (November 13).

Pharmacies would need to scan the Quit Cards when distributing them and provide feedback to help Public Health England evaluate the campaign's effectiveness, PSNC said.

The cards are available to order from this week until March 2014 by calling 0800 678 3173. An order of 50 cards can be placed, along with 50 point-of-sale toolkits, which contain a Quit Card pack dispenser and a poster.

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