SmokeFreeBrain: The Latest Anti-Smoking Multinational Project

Experts in toxicology, pulmonary medicine, neuroscience, and behavioral therapy, as well as health economics and health informatics, are joining forces to examine different anti-smoking strategies amongst high-risk groups in high-middle-income countries, such as asthma patients and people with chronic pulmonary disease.

SmokeFreeBrain, will be evaluating the effectiveness of public health services and also the use of electronic cigarettes, both with and without nicotine as smoking cessation aids. Additionally, researchers will be testing a new neuro-feedback tool called So-Lo-Mo which incorporates the use of social media, mobile apps and text messaging to help smokers quit.

“Smoking is the largest avoidable cause of lung diseases, morbidity and premature mortality worldwide,” says project coordinator Panagiotis Bamidis. “The purpose of our project is to deliver new knowledge regarding the cost-effectiveness of innovative smoking cessation interventions. This approach should improve the efficiency of public policy strategies aiming to reduce smoker numbers and therefore help to prevent lung diseases.”

Interventions launched in 8 countries

SmokeFreeBrain, is currently piloting interventions based in labs and hospitals in 8 countries: Bulgaria, Greece, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Serbia, the United Kingdom and Taiwan. The work is scheduled to be completed by next October with the help of over 500 study subjects, who will be assessed for over a year with the aim of producing reliable data about the effectiveness of the different approaches.

Read Further: News Medical