Portsmouth students help smokers who want to give up
Shower gels, deodorants and lip balms could help smokers quit the habit thanks to innovative designs from two students.
The mint-flavoured and unisex products could not only help smokers stay fresh and clean but also help replace their craving for nicotine.
The nicotine in the products would be absorbed through the skin like a nicotine patch - but only a small amount can be used at a time to stop any overdose.
The products called Nic-Rou-Tine – which stands for Nicotine Replacement Therapy – have been designed by University of Portsmouth students Kim Franckeiss and Sarah Matthews.
The pair, who study graphic design, have been awarded 2,000 for their product ideas and been made Fellows of the Royal Society for the encouragement of arts, manufactures and commerce.
The nicotine shower gel, deodrant and lip balm have yet to be developed - but pharmacistis have told them the principle is sound.
Sarah, 23, said: 'It's a long way off being in the shops. The prize is for the concept and the product.
'We designed a product that wasn't already on the existing market and we went to pharmacists to speak to them and they said it would work.
'The nicotine would be absorbed into the skin like a patch.
'Other therapeutic nicotine products looked pharmaceutical and serious – we wanted to create something funky that people could fit into their daily routine.
'I think the lip balm really won the judges over. They liked the idea that it could act as a cigarette replacement as it is tube-shaped and you have to use the action of taking your hand to your mouth to use it –like you would if you took a drag from a cigarette.'
More than 800 students entered the RSA Design Directions competition to come up with an idea for over-the-counter products to help smokers quit that would be convenient and easy to use.
Previous winners of the award include Jonathan Ive, designer of the iPod and fashion designer Betty Jackson.
The students say they will use their prize money to either buy equipment or support them while they do work experience with a graphic design company in London.
Kim, 20, said: 'Doing unpaid work experience can leave you really broke – especially when you have to pay for your train fare to and from the city.
'I can now use the money to pay for my commute from Portsmouth and my living expenses while gaining valuable experience I wouldn't have otherwise had.'
Senior art, design & media lecturer, Simon Clarke, said: 'Sarah and Kim's design for a nicotine replacement therapy product is really innovative.
'They have come up with a creative and intelligent idea that I think could quite easily appeal to smokers of both sexes who are trying to give up.'
66% WANT TO QUIT
Smoking fell to its lowest recorded level in 2007 to just 21 per cent of Great Britain's population aged 16 and over.
As many as 66 per cent of smokers wanted to give up.
Health concerns are the most common reason for quitting. The next most commonly mentioned reasons are cost, family pressure and the effect on children.
Popular ways to give up include nicotine patches, nicotine gum and nicotine inhalers, all of which cut out some or all of the other harmful ingredients of cigarettes, which include carbon monoxide, tar, arsenic, ammonia and methane, while helping reduce nicotine intake.
>> Vote in our latest web poll.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Portsmouth
Thursday 23 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 9 C to 13 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: West
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 7 C to 12 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: West
