Proponents of the Allen Carr Easyway to Stop Smoking (ACESS) method want to use Prince George as a test site.
The smoking cessation program has been available for decades, but there is little scientific data from Canada to show our country's results, said Pamela McColl, a representative of the company. She was in Prince George this week to open dialogue with the City of Prince George, Northern Health and the University of Northern B.C. in the hopes our city would become a pilot community. Those who took their five-hour seminar would be tracked to see short- and long-term effects.
The ACESS program is a private enterprise selling the smoking cessation technique designed by Allen Carr. It is based on a philosophy of fostering common will-power techniques and helpful mental triggers for each smoker. It uses no pill, gum, patch or other nicotine replacements. It uses mostly a five-hour seminar and a book. Many participate with only the book.
"There is a demand for studies that show the program's results in North America, so I said fine, I would find a university in Canada to study this," said McColl. "Our program is focused in major cities but I knew Prince George [she lived here as a child] and I knew the smoking rates and cancer rates were a big concern around Prince George, so I hope we can do our work up there and at the same time do some science."
The City of Prince George is considering the idea. A meeting has been set for August to bring the potential research partners around the same table after they have each had a chance to review the claims of the program.
"We have not made a commitment to this, but it has been used by other large-scale employers in other places, including the City of Vancouver, so we will give it consideration," said Scott McMillan, occupational health and safety advisor for the city. "If we decide to go ahead with it, the next step in our considerations would be to look at sharing the experience with the university, together with the hospital."
McMillan was not sure how many smokers there are among the hundreds of city workers, but worker safety is a priority for the municipal workforce and he said he would research the pros and cons of offering the program. It is common for employers to set up the seminars for their workers under the notion that less smoking makes for a healthier, more productive workforce.
The smoking cessation specialists at Northern Health are also interested in broadening the research behind the ACESS claims, but they have no set agenda with McColl yet.
"We are aware of the Allen Carr method. We have not been approached by anybody about a test pilot, but this is still new," said Laura Johnson, a tobacco reduction co-ordinator in Prince George. "We are very interested, if there is a study conducted, to be part of that. We want to see evidence. Right now we have a very active smoking cessation program that is evidence-based while the Allen Carr method really does not have the evidence behind it. But we want people to stop smoking and have all those health benefits, so we want to know more."
Those wishing immediate help to stop smoking can call Northern Health's free Nicotine Intervention Counselling Centre (NICC), which has trained, local counsellors and a slate of techniques available at 250-565-7344.
For more information about how to stop smoking, visit www.quitnow.ca or call the Quitnow helpline toll-free at 1-877-455-2233 (available 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday to Friday).
