iCOquit®

How the world’s first Smokerlyzer® device for your smartphone can help you quit smoking.

World No Tobacco Day falls on May 31st every year and encourages smokers to abstain from tobacco for at least 24 hours as a start to kicking the habit. It also aims to raise more awareness of the dangers surrounding tobacco consumption and smoking; statistics published earlier in March from the World Health Organisation (WHO) revealed that tobacco use is directly responsible for over 6 million deaths a year, but even more shockingly, a further 890,000 deaths are those of non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke[1]. Whilst there are many methods to help people quit smoking, many studies have shown that carbon monoxide (CO) monitoring has proven to be very effective in monitoring and encouraging a person’s quit attempt and this World Tobacco Day you have the chance to win a personal CO device[2].

A study by Beard and West on the effectiveness of personal carbon monoxide monitoring, found that 7/10 people “felt as though the devices had reduced their cigarette consumption” whilst 6/10 smokers “reported a lower nicotine dependency… over the 6 weeks, there appeared to be a significant decline in the number of cigarettes smoked per day”[3].

The iCO™ is the world’s first Smokerlyzer® CO device that connects to your smartphone/tablet. Small, sleek and portable, this personal CO device enables you to monitor your CO levels, track your progress and share your results; simply download the app and be motivated to quit smoking, anytime, anywhere. Through a simple, non-invasive breath test this device measures the harmful levels of CO in the blood caused by smoking; the more you smoke, the higher the reading but as you start your quit attempt, you can track your readings as they fall.

REFERENCES

1. Tobacco [Internet]. World Health Organization. 2018 [cited 9 May 2018]. Available from: http://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/tobacco

2. Use of Expired Air Carbon Monoxide Testing in Clinical Tobacco Treatment Settings. Goldstein, Adam O. et al. CHEST , Volume 153 , Issue 2 , 554 – 562

3. Beard E, West R. Pilot Study of the Use of Personal Carbon Monoxide Monitoring to Achieve Radical Smoking Reduction. Journal of Smoking Cessation. 2012;7(01):12-17.

Bedfont Scientific, based in Harrietsham, Kent have made a generous donation to help those wishing to quit on No Smoking Day. They have offered local Stop Smoking Services, several free iCO™ Smokerlyzers® to help with their No Smoking Day promotions.

To recognise World No Smoking day 2016, Bedfont Scientific is working with their local Stop Smoking Services (SSS). By donating a few iCO Smokerlyzers as prizes for competitions, Bedfont hopes to raise awareness of the dangers involved with smoking, encourage people to quit and inform the public about how the Smokerlyzer can help.
 
The Smokerlyzer brand is widely recognised by those who have quit smoking, those who are trying to, and the health advisors that aid them. The name is renowned for its quality and effectiveness in helping people to give up the habit.

The Smokerlyzer range is a series of carbon monoxide (CO) monitors that measures the harmful amount of CO that is inhaled from smoking, which can show how much a patient has been smoking, giving smoking cessation advisors an idea on the level of dependency that the smoker has. The Smokerlyzer is quick, non-invasive and also acts as a motivational visual aid to encourage the user to quit smoking and to measure their progress whilst doing so.

Bedfont Scientific, is celebrating 40 years in business this year and are revered as pioneers in the breath analysis market. Founder, Trevor Smith, created the Smokerlyzer in 1985, which is also celebrating its 30th birthday in 2016.  With more than 514852 units sold since existence, the Smokerlyzer is one of Bedfont’s most successful exports and can now be found in over 61 countries across the world.

Jason Smith, General Manager at Bedfont Scientific, comments,

“ We are pleased to be supporting No Smoking Day in this way by donating some of our products to assist the Stop Smoking Services. According to the HSCIC, smoking was attributable to almost 80,000 deaths in England in 2013, a figure which has not changed since 2003, and 454,700 hospital admissions. Even more alarming are the figures released by the ONS showing that the number of people willing to quit smoking in recent years is stagnating. Bedfont’s aim is to help people quit by highlighting the diseases brought about by CO poisoning through smoking, as well as the benefits of quitting such as preventing cancer and other smoking related diseases.” [1][2]

Photo above, inset: Jane Wright, Public Health Manager at Warwickshire Stop Smoking Service with one of her free iCO Smokerlyzers.