Nicotine smoking tests
Nicotine smoking tests are important diagnostic tools in respect of any smoking cessation strategy.
Second-hand smoking results in over 300,000 visits by Drs to children every year.
There are 9,500 hospital visits and overall it costs the NHS more than £23.6 million annually.
Children absorb second hand smoke to dangerous levels particularly in confined spaces such as in rooms and cars.
A survey of 1,000 children aged eight to 13 whose parents are smokers indicate that they are concerned about their parents smoking behavior.
Children suffer from second hand smoking
Recent figures released by the Royal College of Physicians, millions of children in the UK are exposed to second-hand smoke which puts them at increased risk of meningitis, lung disease, and cot deaths.
They found that 98% of children wished their parents would stop smoking, 82% wished their parents would not smoke in front of them at home and 78% wished they would not smoke in the car.
Research has found that high levels of cotinine (a bi product of nicotine) have been found in young children exposed to second hand smoke.
Nicoscreen® smoking tests are able to detect levels of nicotine in urine that will enable responsible adults to take action to protect their children from further exposure to second hand smoking.
Point-of-care nicotine tests
POC nicotine tests provide valuable evidence of nicotine inhalation.
They can provide both qualitative and quantitative accurate results of recent inhalation of nicotine. Ideal for monitoring smoking cessation programmes, insurance assessments and health screening.
Nicotine use
Nicotine use through cigarette smoking is a major health problem. In addition, passive inhalation of secondary smoke by non-smokers is also dangerous to health.
More than 80,000 UK deaths are attributed to smoking ever year, costing the NHS £2.7 billion a year. Bio-feedback by individuals and screening/monitoring programmes by healthcare professionals can easily be undertaken using Point-of-care tests for cotinine a by-product of nicotine using Nicoscreen(R) detectable in either urine or saliva.
As well as affecting insurance premiums, smoking in the workplace can have legal implications.
Pre-employment screening tests for Nicotine
Nicotine Testing is often a requirement of pre-employment screening.
On July 1st 2007, England introduced a new law to make virtually all enclosed public places and workplaces in England smoke free.
NicoScreen® Product Update
See a PDF Nicoscreen® information sheet here
NicoScreen® is ISO 9001/ISO 13485 compliant
A smoke free England ensures a healthier environment, so everyone can socialise, relax, travel, shop and work free from second-hand smoke.
The technology now exists to screen individuals to ascertain if they are smokers by using the
NicoScreen® test - recommended by major insurance companies and clinics.
NicoScreen™Nicoscreen leaflet
Nicoscreen® is the near-patient diagnostic test used to detect Cotinine in bodily fluids up to 3 days after the body has absorbed the substance.
Nicoscreen® is a very cost effective simple test that requires minimum equipment, gives an instant result and can be conducted by non-medical personnel.
The Nicoscreen® COT test is based on the principle of the highly specific immunochemical reactions between antigens and antibodies, which are used for the analysis of specific substances in urine. The sample is dropped onto a cassette and the assay reacts within 5 minutes providing preliminary evidence of nicotine use.
MHS is the only company to offer the NicoScreen® brand that can be used in the home, smoking cessation clinics, pre-employment screening agencies, for occupation health screening and insurance screening.
MHS can also offer a bespoke health and substance screening programme using trained medical staff located across the UK.
SmokeScreen®
SmokeScreen® is a rapid colorimetric test which detects nicotine and all its breakdown products, with a positive sample turning a pink/orange colour.The test can be used in three ways: observing a colour change will tell whether the sample is from a smoker or not. This test takes 6-minutes.
SmokeScreen® is the world’s first quantitative rapid oral fluid test for smoking.
Smokescreen cotinine saliva test
Oral fluid Smokescreen
The very latest development in
point of care testing is the nicotine saliva test
that provides evidence of smoking via a sample of saliva and a color chart.
This hygienic 10 mins point of care test is very easy to use and cannot be cheated. It provides quantitative evidence of smoking MHS_SalivaSmokescreen
Now available as a saliva test Oral Fluid Smokescreen insert
Developed at the University of Birmingham (UK) and backed up by extensive clinical evaluations, it provides an easy-to-use approach to identify smokers correctly and monitor changes in their behaviour. As the social opposition to smoking increases then the likelihood of denial by smokers when questioned by healthcare professionals increases, especially if penalties exist if they smoke.
Biochemical tests are required to overcome the problems with self-reported smoking. Several tests exist to verify smoking, but SmokeScreen® is quick, very sensitive and inexpensive . Potential customers include the insurance industry, smoking cessation clinics and the vast majority of healthcare workers who treat smoking-related diseases.
| “Modern Health Systems Ltd is the ideal company to promote and distribute SmokeScreen®. This test complements their current range of products, especially the tests for drugs of abuse. The company’s specialty of providing training and support to companies and organizations that tests their employees or clients for drug use could benefit from using SmokeScreen® to reduce the use of tobacco along with other addictive substances.
Modern Health Systems Ltd is a company with excellent management credentials and a first-rate track-record in the rapidly expanding field of medical diagnostics. Their ambitious attitude and strong management supports Medical Health Systems Ltd as the ideal company to promote SmokeScreen®.” Dr G. Cope PhD |
Dr Graham Cope has degrees from London, Manchester and Leeds in biological sciences, pharmacology and a PhD in biochemical toxicology. As an academic at the University of Birmingham he worked on the causes of smoking-related diseases and became an expert in the measurement of nicotine intake. He is known as a leading authority on the subject intake and recently spoke at the International Conference on Tobacco at Helsinki, Finland. The pharmacological effects of nicotine are similar to other abused drugs and Dr Cope has a wide appreciation of drug related illness and effects.
