Supported by SPECTRUM, the new panel includes members of the public who use products that contain nicotine and who have mental health conditions. 10 March 2022Researchers at King’s College London have established a new public involvement panel on nicotine and mental health, supported by SPECTRUM.Public involvement is an important element of SPECTRUM’s work, ensuring the perspectives and needs of the public are acknowledged and considered, helping to shape vital research which will deliver impact.Mental health inequalitiesDisrupting the relationship between mental health and unhealthy commodities is a key area of SPECTRUM research, building an understanding of the links between unhealthy commodity use, mental ill-health and stigma.The team at King’s College London is examining how public health mass media campaigns impact those with mental ill-health, and developing new messaging to meet their needs. We want members of the public to help shape our research so that it is more relevant and useful to the people it aims to benefit. We know that people with mental ill-health are more likely to use tobacco products and experience harm from using these products. Our new group will feed into studies that examine, and aim to disrupt, this relationship, by supporting members to share their experiences and perspectives. Dr Parvati Perman-Howe SPECTRUM Research Fellow Join the groupThe group is currently recruiting members.If you have experience, now or in the past, of using products that contain nicotine and having a mental health condition, visit the website or contact info-nicotineresearchgroup@kcl.ac.uk for more information.Visit the Nicotine and Mental Health Group websitePublic involvement at SPECTRUMSPECTRUM supports three public involvement panels, covering tobacco and nicotine, alcohol and mental health.Find out more about SPECTRUM’s public involvement groups Publication date 10 Mar, 2022
