Spectrum Brands (United Kingdom)

Introduction Alcohol contributes to at least 16% of ambulance call-outs in Scotland, placing a significant burden on emergency services. This study aimed to explore the circumstances behind these incidents from the perspective of practicing Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) clinicians. Methods We conducted in-depth qualitative interviews (median duration: 81 minutes) with 31 SAS staff, purposively sampled for diversity in gender (10 women, 21 men), region, and length of service (1–50 years; median 10). Interviews were transcribed and thematically analyzed using both deductive and inductive approaches. Results Alcohol-related call-outs typically involved either chronic heavy drinking patterns mainly at home with co-existing mental, social, or emotional issues or acute intoxication in social settings. Clinicians reported a large volume of incidents and felt the public underestimated the proportion caused by chronic problems. Conclusion Strategies, policies, and interventions aiming to reduce pressure on emergency services must consider how to provide or improve accessible care for people with chronic alcohol problems, as well as how to reduce acute intoxication to help reduce the amount alcohol related calls SAS staff attend.

Background In Great Britain, local authorities responsible for alcohol premises licensing produce a statement of licensing policy setting out how they intend to exercise their statutory licensing functions including on trading hours. We aimed to describe and compare these policies on alcohol trading hours, including their interpretation and application of laws and guidance. Methods Policies were obtained from the websites of all 366 local licensing authorities and uploaded to NVivo. Using content analysis, relevant text was located through manual searching and coded inductively. Results Many local authorities do not explicitly seek to place controls on trading hours, while others create complex circumstances under which extended hours may be granted. Setting out core or matrix hours is the best example in the findings of local authorities applying their limited discretion to implement the law in ways that suit their needs. Conclusion Although licensing is ostensibly a policy system devolved to local areas, power remains at the centre in national legislation and guidance. Resultantly, local discretion is highly constrained especially in England/Wales. There is a need to attend to the details of statutory instruments to understand how headline principles and objectives can be made workable in practice for local authorities and boards.

This paper describes the design and characterisation of two amplifiers from 81GHz to 86GHz. This chip set was designed as a part of a dual-redundant low-noise amplifier module for future W-band communication payload system. The first amplifier was designed using the D007IH GaAs metamorphic HEMT (mHEMT) technology from MACOM (formerly OMMIC) for low noise application. The gain of this amplifier was measured to be approximately 30dB with a noise figure of 2.2dB and a low power consumption of 30mW. The die measures 3.5mm x 1.2mm. The second amplifier was designed for better linearity using the PH10 GaAs process from UMS. The amplifier demonstrated of gain greater than 27dB with a third order output intercept point (OIP3) better than 17dBm. The die measures 4.5x1.5mm.

In March 2024, the UK government announced plans to introduce a Vaping Products Duty that will tax e-liquids based on their nicotine strength. This study examined trends in the nicotine strength of e-liquids used by adult vapers and differences in those currently used across relevant subgroups. Nationally-representative, cross-sectional household survey, July 2016 to January 2024. Great Britain. 7981 adult vapers. Participants were asked whether the e-cigarette they mainly use contains nicotine (yes/no) and the e-liquid strength (no nicotine, >0-≤ 6, 7-11, 12-19 or ≥20 mg/ml). We also collected information on the main device type used (disposable/refillable/pod), age, gender, occupational social grade, history of ≥1 mental health conditions, smoking status and (among past-year smokers) level of cigarette addiction. The proportion of vapers in England using high-strength (≥20 mg/ml) e-liquids increased from an average of 3.8% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.9-5.0) up to June 2021 to 32.5% (CI = 27.9-37.4) in January 2024 (the vast majority of whom [93.3% in January 2024] reported using exactly 20 mg/ml; the legal limit). This rise was most pronounced among those using disposable e-cigarettes, those aged 18-24 years and all smoking statuses (including never smokers) except long-term (≥1y) ex-smokers. Of those surveyed in 2022-2024 in Great Britain, overall, 89.5% (CI = 88.1-90.8) said they usually used e-cigarettes containing nicotine, 8.7% (CI = 7.5-10.0) used nicotine-free e-cigarettes, and 1.8% (CI = 1.2-2.4) were unsure. The proportion using ≥20 mg/ml was higher among those mainly using disposable (47.9%) compared with pod (16.3%) or refillable (11.5%) devices; never smokers (36.0%), current smokers (28.8%) or recent (<1y) ex-smokers (27.4%), compared with long-term ex-smokers (13.9%); and younger (16-24y; 44.2%) compared with older (≥25y; range 9.4-25.1%) age groups. There were no notable differences across other subgroups of interest. Use of high-strength nicotine e-liquids in England appears to have increased sharply in recent years. Most adult vapers in Great Britain appear to use e-cigarettes that contain nicotine but different subgroups use different strengths: nicotine strengths tend to be higher among those who mainly use disposable devices and those aged 16-24y, and lower among long-term ex-smokers.

In the last 3 years, people in England have lived through a pandemic and cost-of-living and health care crises, all of which may have contributed to worsening mental health in the population. To estimate trends in psychological distress among adults over this period and to examine differences by key potential moderators. A monthly cross-sectional, nationally representative household survey of adults aged 18 years or older was conducted in England between April 2020 and December 2022. Past-month distress was assessed with the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale. Time trends in any distress (moderate to severe, scores ≥5) and severe distress (scores ≥13) were modeled, and interactions with age, gender, occupational social grade, children in the household, smoking status, and drinking risk status were tested. Data were collected from 51 861 adults (weighted mean [SD] age, 48.6 [18.5] years; 26 609 women [51.3%]). There was little overall change in the proportion of respondents reporting any distress (from 34.5% to 32.0%; prevalence ratio [PR], 0.93; 95% CI, 0.87-0.99), but the proportion reporting severe distress increased by 46%, from 5.7% to 8.3% (PR, 1.46; 95% CI, 1.21-1.76). Although trends differed by sociodemographic characteristics, smoking, and drinking, the increase in severe distress was observed across all subgroups (with PR estimates ranging from 1.17 to 2.16), with the exception of those aged 65 years and older (PR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.43-1.38); the increase was particularly pronounced since late 2021 among those younger than 25 years (increasing from 13.6% in December 2021 to 20.2% in December 2022). In this survey study of adults in England, the proportion reporting any psychological distress was similar in December 2022 to that in April 2020 (an extremely difficult and uncertain moment of the COVID-19 pandemic), but the proportion reporting severe distress was 46% higher. These findings provide evidence of a growing mental health crisis in England and underscore an urgent need to address its cause and to adequately fund mental health services.

Abstract AimTo evaluate the effectiveness of the offer ofSmoke Free– an evidence-informed, widely used app – for smoking cessation versus no support.DesignTwo-arm individually randomised controlled effectiveness trial.SettingOnline with no restrictions on location.Participants3,143 adult smokers (74.7% female; mean[SD] age 49.0 [11.5] years) motivated to make a quit attempt in the next month, recruited between August-2020 and April-2021.Interventions and comparatorsOffer of theSmoke Freeapp plus follow-up (intervention arm) versus no intervention plus follow-up (comparator arm). Both groups were shown a brief message at the end of the baseline questionnaire encouraging them to make a quit attempt.Main outcome measuresThe primary outcome was self-reported 6-month continuous abstinence assessed 7 months after randomisation. Secondary outcomes included quit attempts in the first month post-randomisation, 3-month continuous abstinence assessed at 4 months, and 6-month continuous abstinence at 7 months among those who made a quit attempt. The primary analysis was performed on an intention-to-treat basis, with missing-equals-smoking imputation. Sensitivity analyses included i) restricting the intervention group to those who took up the offer of the app, ii) using complete cases, and iii) using multiple imputation.ResultsThe effective follow-up rate for 7 months was 41.9%. The primary analysis showed no evidence of a benefit of the intervention on rates of 6-month continuous abstinence (intervention 6.8% vs. comparator 7.0%; RR=0.97, 95%CI=0.75-1.26). Analyses on all secondary outcomes also showed no evidence of a benefit. Similar results were observed on complete cases and using multiple imputation. When the intervention group was restricted to those who took up the offer of the app (n=395, 25.3%), participants in the intervention group were 80% more likely to report 6-month continuous abstinence (12.7% vs. 7.0%; RR=1.80, 95%CI=1.30-2.45). Equivalent subgroup analyses produced similar results on the secondary outcomes. These differences persisted after adjustment for key baseline characteristics.ConclusionsAmong motivated smokers provided with very brief advice to quit, offer of theSmoke Freeapp did not have a detectable benefit for cessation compared with follow-up only. However, the app increased quit rates when smokers randomised to receive the app downloaded it.

BackgroundElectronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are often advertised as a healthier option to combustible cigarettes and as smoking cessation aid. However, e-cigarettes are a growing health concern and their addictive potential remains to be fully understood. Within the EValuation of the Addictive Potential of E-cigarettes (EVAPE) project, we studied subjective and objective measures of addiction in relation to e-cigarette use.MethodsThis cross-sectional analysis was based on 832 participants of the first wave (2016) of England from the ITC Four Country Smoking and Vaping (4CV) Survey, who were using e-cigarettes daily or weekly for at least four months. Perceived addiction to e-cigarettes was categorised as very vs. not/somewhat addicted, and perceived addictiveness of e-cigarettes relative to combustible cigarettes as equally/more addictive vs. less addictive. Objective measures of addiction included urge to vape, time to first vape after waking, frequency of use, and used nicotine strength. We examined associations between these objective and subjective measures of addiction using multivariate logistic regression, adjusted for age, gender, education, and cigarette smoking.Results17.8% of participants reported feeling very addicted to e-cigarettes and 42.3% considered e-cigarettes equally/more addictive than combustible cigarettes. Those who felt very addicted had higher odds of regarding e-cigarettes as more addictive (OR 3.43 (95%-CI 2.29-5.19)). All objective measures of addiction were associated with higher perceived addiction, whereas only a shorter time to first vape was associated with perceived product addictiveness.ConclusionsSubjective measures of addiction to e-cigarettes, in particular perceived addiction, correspond with objective measures. Understanding the addictive potential of e-cigarettes is the cornerstone for developing new strategies for prevention and treatment, and ultimately understanding their role from a public health perspective.Key messagesDespite being promoted as healthier alternative to combustible cigarettes, electronic cigarettes are a growing health concern, also given their potential addictiveness.We found both subjective and objective indicators of addiction to be prevalent in a relevant proportion of electronic cigarette users, suggesting an addictive potential of electronic cigarettes.

ObjectivesThis study ascertains the views of UK stakeholders on the actual, and possible, impact of a public health licensing objective in their day-to-day work. Study design and methodsTwenty-eight interviews were conducted with members of public health teams who were actively engaged in alcohol licensing in their local area between 2017 and 2019. Six teams were based in Scotland (where there is a public health licensing objective) and 14 in England (where there is no similar objective). ResultsScottish participants reported that while challenges remained in applying the public health licensing objective, progress had been made and the objective was beneficial to their work. Participants in England felt that an objective would increase the legitimacy, value and impact of their contributions. In both Scotland and England, constructive relationships between PHTs, licensing authorities and other key stakeholders were developing suggesting that PHTs could have a sustainable and positive role in licensing. ConclusionsIn many Scottish areas, the alcohol licensing system is evolving to take constructive account of its public health objective. In England, PHTs that have invested resources in engaging in this area have demonstrated an ability to work effectively within licensing systems. Strong support for the adoption of a public health licensing objective among these PHTs adds weights to calls for the UK Government to reconsider its previous decision not to introduce such an objective.