environment may be extremely stressful and walking around the place can be boring . “ Then people often think , why focus on smoking when they are using heroin ? Why not leave people to enjoy their cigarettes ? Do we have to take everything away from them ? “ A lot of these people do want to quit smoking but don ’ t have the support to do it .”
Florian said he would love to see vape shops try to figure out better ways of making the equipment more available , as this was such an important issue . After consulting with the New Nicotine Alliance ( NNA ), Florian partnered with Tom Russell of UK vape store , Refill Station .
Alongside providing kits to the study at a reduced cost , Russell also offered his advice , discussing which models had the best user-interface and longest battery-life . They eventually settled on the Endure T22e , due in part to its inclusion on other drug use and harm reduction studies . “ If there are benefits from those studies then they could be combined together and the evidencebase could be strengthened ,” said Florian .
The subjects were monitored for three months after receiving their vapes , with Florian recording a positive uptake amongst users .
He said : “ A lot of people really appreciated the chance and their health improved considerably . However , there were some issues around stressful environments , including hospitalisation or deaths of partners .
“ But a lot of people did really well on it .” Florian highlighted several ways that vape stores can support the homeless community , stressing that “ there is a demand … on approaching the services directly and saying you would like to contribute . “ Could you have a discount , or a way for people to read more about it themselves ?” “ Most services want to help their people , but tobacco harm reduction is not a top priority .”
Also in this issue , we investigate how the cost of Champix in Ireland can create a barrier for adult smokers looking to quit . This problem is only amplified for homeless people , who often struggle to maintain the costs of safer alternatives .
“ For people who experience homelessness , health may not be the top priority , as you are dealing with trying to find a home , trying to survive …”
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