Further to my previous post, and the news that ASH is demanding £350,000 to fund the Quit for Covid campaign, Number 10 might like to consider the following.
Since it was launched on March 17, the Quit for Covid Twitter account has attracted 742 followers, most of them (I would guess) non-smokers or ex-smokers working in public health or tobacco control.
Not counting retweets, Quit for Covid has posted around 550 original tweets. Over 65 days, that's an average of 8.5 per day. A quick scroll reveals that many Quit for Covid tweets attract no comments, no retweets and no 'likes'.
When a tweet does get a 'like', or is retweeted, the organisation or individual responsible is almost always part of the tobacco control or public health industry.
A random check of Quit for Covid tweets posted in April and May found the following organisations retweeting or 'liking' them:
ASH Wales, Breathe2025, Smokefree Hackney, Making Smoking History Greater Manchester, Get Healthy Rotherham, NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire CCG, and the National Centre for Smoking Cessation and Training (NCSCT).
Individuals included Ailsa Rutter, director of Fresh Smoke Free, and Andrew Furber, regional director of public health, North West England.
Other individuals who I won't name included a health psychologist, public health consultant, smoking cessation officer, smoking cessation specialist and a 'smoke free lead'.
Ordinary members of the public, notably smokers who want to quit, are almost completely absent from the conversation.
Aside from a couple of references to direct messages ('Had a very interesting DM conversation yesterday with a worried smoker', 'Just having an interesting private DM chat with someone looking for answers'), the Quit for Covid team appears to have interacted publicly with just TWO smokers in May.
One works for an 'academic health science network' and is very Twitter savvy:
Hello all @QuitforCovid @FreshSmokeFree @ASH_LDN @TeamHealthworks and all fellow quitters for covid. Day 18 stronger than ever, hope you all well and safe ready to clap for our heroes 🌈🌈🌈👏👏👏👏👏
— Phil Kyle (@philkyle7) May 14, 2020
The other (I kid you not) lives in Mexico. On May 7, in conversation with @metomcat, Quit for Covid tweeted:
That’s fantastic very well done to you 👏👏👏 @metomcat . Can you share with us how you are finding your quit so far @QuitforCovid https://t.co/Hb5DjAJIHO
— QuitforCovid (@QuitforCovid) May 7, 2020
Your mind can become really active when you quit some say that they are quite wonderful 😊 Really glad to hear that your withdrawal has been managed well. Please share any coping strategies you may have @QuitforCovid. Your body is recovering by the minute. Many congratulations https://t.co/8ncvv8Z4Ng
— QuitforCovid (@QuitforCovid) May 7, 2020
At the end of the session, relieved perhaps that a smoker had actually engaged with the clinic, Quit for Covid tweeted:
Well we have come to the end of our clinic this evening. Thanks to @metomcat for your tweets. Please let us know how you are getting on. We are here every evening @QuitforCovid Good night for now see you tomorrow.
— QuitforCovid (@QuitforCovid) May 7, 2020
Two days later, with UK-based smokers still reluctant to contact the clinic for quit smoking advice, the campaign reached out to @metomcat in Mexico to ask:
Hi @metomcat how has your day been today? Good I hope. I will be here until 8.30 so if you should need any advice or would just like to share your experiences then please drop me a tweet @QuitforCovid
— QuitforCovid (@QuitforCovid) May 9, 2020
I suspect @metomcat didn't reply because on May 11 the Quit for Covid team was almost imploring her for a response:
Hello @metomcat How are you today . How have the last few days been for you? We would love to hear how you are getting on. Drop us a tweet @QuitforCovid
— QuitforCovid (@QuitforCovid) May 11, 2020
Having observed the Quit for Covid tweets for several weeks it seemed to me that, far from being a smoking cessation service, it was more of a platform for public health professionals and tobacco control activists to share their experiences or offer support for one another.
Take, for example, this tweet:
Lovely to hear this from @sarah_fassihi who supports people to stop smoking. She shows how an advisor will celebrate with you as your confidence grows. Some ex-smokers say they are prouder of this achievement than anything else they have done https://t.co/4oCQNjud43
— QuitforCovid (@QuitforCovid) May 14, 2020
Or this:
Back in the day we had an annual @UKNSCC conference to bring stop smoking advisors together to share best practice & hear inspiring talks. I’d love it if this #QuitforCovid account could be used to ask questions and get information from each other, improving practice everywhere
— QuitforCovid (@QuitforCovid) May 18, 2020
On May 14, at the start of the evening Quit Clinic, we were told 'There are quite a few tweets to pick up from today, so I'll get started'.
Interested to see what they were, I waited. Four tweets were retweeted. Not one was from a smoker who wanted to quit.
Instead Quit for Covid retweeted an ASH press release about passive smoking at home during lockdown, a tweet by North East Linconshire Council also warning of second hand smoke, a tweet by a smoking cessation officer, and a plug for the Quit for Covid Quit Clinic by the SGH Paediatric Asthma Team.
Talk about an echo chamber!
The absence of smokers from the Quit for Covid conversation was not the only thing I noticed. On May 18 another Quit for Covid tweet implored GPs to get in touch:
Would love to hear from GPs about whether patients who smoke have been asking for help to stop smoking, because of Covid. Have you seen any surge of interest? Your local Stop Smoking Service would be delighted to get these people referred to them
— QuitforCovid (@QuitforCovid) May 18, 2020
Outcome: one retweet, four 'likes', zero replies.
On May 4, in an attempt perhaps to reboot the ailing campaign, Public Health England tweeted:
We welcome today’s launch of #QuitforCOVID and urge smokers across England to quit now, to improve their health and reduce their risks from COVID-19.
— Public Health England (@PHE_uk) May 4, 2020
For information and advice on quitting, search 'Smokefree' or visit: https://t.co/OcwxGN4xrt
The following week, noting that the Quit for Covid Clinic had actually been open for six weeks (PHE take note), the team tweeted:
It will be 6 weeks this week since the clinic opened it’s doors. Have you quit smoking during this time ? Let us know how you are feeling and coping with quitting. It may just help someone who is thinking of about it. Waiting to hear from you @QuitforCovid
— QuitforCovid (@QuitforCovid) May 11, 2020
By now however not even the ever cheerful Quit for Covid Clinic team could disguise the fact that the project was ailing badly.
As it dawned on them that the clinics weren't attracting much interest, they began asking questions.
There we are, it’s 8.30 already! Quick question, would another time of day be better? Should we have something during the day too? Or instead? Do tell us what you think.
— QuitforCovid (@QuitforCovid) May 13, 2020
See you tomorrow
If anyone has a question about how to #QuitforCovid outside of the live hours, please do tweet it anyway, and we will come back to you with an answer as soon as we can https://t.co/I3LLFmaYUc
— QuitforCovid (@QuitforCovid) May 14, 2020
Evening everyone! We had a chat today about the reach this evening session is getting, and we’ve decided to extend our check-ins to an Open All Hours approach. This will hopefully mean that if anyone has a #QuitforCovid question during the day, we can get an answer back sooner
— QuitforCovid (@QuitforCovid) May 15, 2020
It’s Saturday and I’m back again for the evening #QuitforCovid session. I suggested to colleagues last week that the weekend may not be a popular time for questions, in which case we need to focus ourselves on weekdays. What do you think though?
— QuitforCovid (@QuitforCovid) May 16, 2020
So from Monday, we’ll be tweaking the #QuitforCovid format. Let’s see how much extra reach we can get by picking up questions and conversations during the day. I’ll check in regularly, and any questions will get answered!
— QuitforCovid (@QuitforCovid) May 17, 2020
By Sunday the desperation ('No question is too trivial!) was palpable:
Hi, I’m back again for the Sunday night session. Happy to answer any questions about stopping smoking. Products to use? Vaping questions? How to deal with withdrawal? No question is too trivial!#quitforcovid
— QuitforCovid (@QuitforCovid) May 17, 2020
On Monday (May 17), the team revealed its radical new policy – 'open all hours'!
We’re still finalising the changes to the #QuitforCovid live session, so I’m here at the usual time for anyone with questions. From tomorrow we want to open it out to daytime questions too so that more people can get involved
— QuitforCovid (@QuitforCovid) May 18, 2020
If the new policy has made a difference I haven't noticed it, but watch this space.
And so to yesterday and the report that ASH has applied for £350,000 to fund Quit for Covid from May to October.
Goodness! How are they going to spend all that dosh in six months? My guess is that a lot of it will go on a mass media campaign urging smokers to 'quit for Covid'.
But, hang on, the impact of the coronavirus appears to have peaked. Hospital admissions and the number of deaths per day from Covid-19 is falling. Yesterday it was even reported that 'London recorded zero Covid-19 infections for the first time since the outbreak began.'
If we're over the worst, and numerous studies suggest that a significantly smaller proportion of smokers have ended up in hospital as a result of Covid-19 in relation to non-smokers, why on earth would the Government spend £350k on a public health campaign that is already past its sell-by date?
According to ASH, the Department of Health encouraged them to apply for funding for the Quit for Covid campaign. Echoing Chris Snowdon ('Quit for Covid ... looks like just the kind of ineffective lame duck that the Department of Health would lavish money on.'), I'm sure they did! ASH and the DH have been joined at the hip for years. I'm only surprised they don't share an office.
Yesterday's report implied that the 'delay' in ASH receiving the money is down to Number 10, which in turn referred the Guardian back to the Department of Health.
Reading between the lines, my guess is that officials at the DH want to give ASH the money but Number 10 is quite rightly dragging its heels while it questions the use of public money for a campaign that is unlikely to help many smokers stop smoking and may actually be counter-productive at the present time.
After all, who wants to be nagged about their smoking habit and urged to quit just as they are coming out of lockdown?
This is not the time to launch a quit smoking campaign, and it's certainly not the time to use taxpayers' money that could be better spent elsewhere.
For my final thought on whether Quit for Covid deserves £350,000 of taxpayers' money, I leave you with this rather sweet tweet:
Whoops! Sorry to have missed the last 10 minutes of the session. A neighbour came to the door needing help. If I’ve missed any questions I’ll be back tomorrow with more #QuitforCovid chat
— QuitforCovid (@QuitforCovid) May 14, 2020
I retweeted it this morning and someone replied (I paraphrase), ‘Be fair, Quit for Covid is only two ladies working alternate weeks', to which my response is: have you seen their agenda?
There are six strands and our approach and are based on● stopping the promotion of tobacco; ● making tobacco less affordable; ● effective regulation of tobacco products; ● helping tobacco users to quit; ● reducing exposure to second-hand smoke; ● effective communications
— QuitforCovid (@QuitforCovid) May 20, 2020
That's not a stop smoking 'clinic'. That's a full-blooded anti-smoking campaign. ASH has got it all worked out and they want another £350,000 of taxpayers' money to pay for it.
My message to Boris? Just say no.