Quix Labs hosted its inaugural Beyond Stoptober event at its London headquarters on 22 October, bringing together primary care representative to address a critical question: how can the healthcare system better support smokers and vapers beyond a single awareness month?
GPs, community pharmacists, digital health innovators and public health advocates discussed the issue, united by a shared ambition to make England smokefree by 2030.
While Stoptober provides an important annual opportunity to encourage smokers to quit, the evening's central message was clear: smoking cessation support cannot be confined to October.
For a meaningful and lasting change, consistent engagement and stronger collaboration between healthcare professionals is needed throughout the year.
A discussion was held on challenges and opportunities surrounding smoking cessation, patient engagement and the role of community healthcare.
The four speakers represented different perspectives across primary care, digital health and tobacco harm reduction:- Dr Sheikh Ellahi, GP at Elm Tree Medical Centre
- Arvin Abdollazadeh, CEO and Founder of Pharmlogic
- Kristina Neeme, Co-founder of Dodi Health
- Martin Cullip, Former Chair of the New Nicotine Alliance
Each speaker brought a distinct perspective to the challenges and opportunities surrounding smoking cessation, patient engagement and the role of community healthcare.
Dr Ellahi highlighted an opportunity for general practice and community pharmacy to develop relationships that extend beyond traditional prescribing and dispensing activities.
He felt that community pharmacies are well positioned to provide accessible, ongoing support to patients, but closer relationships with local GP surgeries are essential to unlocking that potential.
Pharmacy-GP ties
In an another discussion, moderated by Quix Labs Founder and CEO Zach Starr, the speakers explored the practical steps needed to strengthen collaboration between general practice and community pharmacy.
The panel featured:
- Mohammad Azizyan, Pharmacist at Boots and Digital Pharmacist Lead at Abtrace
- Simon Tojula, Pharmacist with experience across organisations including Superdrug and AstraZeneca
- Vinay Patel, Pharmacist and former head of membership at Avicenna
The focus of the discussion was the gap between identifying a patient's smoking status and connecting that individual with meaningful, accessible support.
While GP practices routinely record smoking status as part of clinical care and quality frameworks, the panel explored how opportunities can be missed when identification is not followed by practical signposting, engagement and ongoing support.
The panel felt that pharmacists should take a proactive approach in building relationships with general practitioners.
The message to community pharmacists was simple: introduce yourself to your local surgery, understand its challenges and demonstrate how your pharmacy can help.
The discussion highlighted the opportunity for pharmacies to become more integrated partners in local primary care.
Zach Starr said: "Stoptober is a fantastic initiative, but the need for smoking cessation support doesn't disappear on 1 November. Every day, patients are visiting their GP surgeries and community pharmacies who could benefit from support, yet too often the connection between identifying a smoker and helping them take the next step is missing.
"What this event demonstrated is that we don't necessarily need to reinvent primary care to make progress. We need to build better relationships between the professionals already supporting these patients.
"If every pharmacy took the initiative to introduce itself to its local GP surgery, demonstrate its value and establish a simple way to connect patients with support, imagine the impact we could have collectively."
Pharmacy award
The evening concluded with the presentation of Quix Labs' inaugural Pharmacy of the Year Award to Caledonian Pharmacy in Islington, North London.
The award is in recognition to the pharmacy's commitment to supporting patients and embracing new approaches to smoking and vaping support.
Caledonian Pharmacy's owner Neil Gathani received the award.
