SCIMITAR+: New research to help people who use mental health services to quit smoking

Posted on 16 February 2015

Funding has been secured in Health Sciences for a new study to examine the success of a bespoke smoking cessation project aimed at those who have severe mental ill health (SMI).

The SCIMITAR+ trial will commence mid 2015 and is led by the Mental Health and Addictions Research Group (MHARG) and the York Trials Unit (YTU) in collaboration with the Universities of Manchester, Sheffield and University College London.

People with SMI are three times more likely to smoke than the general population, but are less likely to access conventional NHS stop smoking services. This is a major contribution to health inequalities for this group since life expectancy is reduced by 20-25 years.

A promising pilot trial (the SCIMITAR project) has already been conducted, paving the way for a full scale study. A definitive trial testing the effectiveness and value for money of this bespoke smoking cessation intervention compared to usual care will now be conducted. The £1.6M study is funded by the NIHR Health Technology Assessment Programme.

The SCIMITAR+ trial will recruit 400 people with SMI from July 2015.

Chief Investigator for the SCIMITAR+ trial, Professor Simon Gilbody, said: "Smoking is a major source of ill health and poverty for people who use mental health services. Smoking cessation services are a recent success story for the NHS but we need to find a way of ensuring people with SMI benefit as well. Smoking rates are falling for the UK population, but there has been no change for people with SMI. In the SCIMITAR+ trial we will test if a more targeted approach is effective and good value for money for the NHS."

The manager of the SCIMITAR+ trial, Dr Emily Peckham, added: "This is a very exciting study. York has led the way with this research. We completed a pilot trial last year and we are keen to finish the job with this full scale trial. In time this research will inform NICE guidelines and could transform NHS services".

For more information on this study, please contact Dr Emily Peckham, Research Fellow, emily.peckham@york.ac.uk or visit www.york.ac.uk/healthsciences/research/mental-health/projects/scimitar-plus/

Funder: NIHR Health Technology Assessment