Further information

We have included the following organisations because, on preliminary investigation, they may be of use to the reader. However, we do not have first-hand experience of each organisation and so cannot guarantee the organisation’s integrity. The reader must therefore exercise his or her own discretion and judgement when making further enquiries.

ASH (Action on Smoking and Health)

102–108 Clifton Street London EC2A 4HW
Tel: 020 7739 5902
Website: www.ash.org.uk
National organisation with local branches. Campaigns on anti­smoking policies. Offers free information on website or for sale from headquarters. Catalogue on request.

Benefits Enquiry Line
Tel: 0800 882200
Website: www.dwp.gov.uk
N. Ireland: 0800 220674
Government agency giving inform­ation and advice on sickness and disability benefits for people with disabilities and their carers.

British Heart Foundation
14 Fitzhardinge Street London W1H 6DH
Tel: 020 7935 0185
Helpline: 08450 708070
Website: www.bhf.org.uk
Funds research, promotes education and raises money to buy equipment to treat heart disease. Information and support available for people with heart conditions. Via Heartstart UK, arranges training in emergency life-saving techniques for lay people.

Chest, Heart and Stroke, Northern Ireland
22 Great Victoria Street Belfast BT2 7LX
Tel: 028 9032 0184
Helpline: 0845 769 7299
Website: www.nichsa.com
Aims to promote the prevention of, and alleviate the suffering resulting from, chest, heart and stroke illnesses in Northern Ireland through advice and information.

Chest, Heart and Stroke, Scotland
65 North Castle Street Edinburgh EH2 3LT
Tel: 0131 225 6963
Helpline: 0845 077 6000
Website: www.chss.org.uk
Aims to improve the quality of life for people in Scotland affected by chest, heart and stroke illness through medical research, advice and information, and support in the community.

Heart UK
7 North Road Maidenhead Berks SL6 1PE
Tel: 01628 628638
Website: www.heartuk.org.uk
Offers information, advice and support to people with coronary heart disease and especially those at high risk of familial hyper­cholesterolaemia. Members receive a bi-monthly magazine.

NHS Smoking Helpline
Tel: 0800 169 0169
Website: www.givingupsmoking.co.uk
For advice, help and encouragement on giving up smoking. Specialist advisers available to offer on-going support to those who genuinely are trying to give up smoking. Can refer to local branches. Pregnancy smoking helpline: 0800 169 9169.

National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE)
MidCity Place 71 High Holborn London WC1V 6NA
Tel: 020 7067 5800
Website: www.nice.org.uk
Provides national guidance on the promotion of good health and the prevention and treatment of ill health. Patient information leaflets are available for each piece of guidance issued.

Smoking Quitlines (Quit)
211 Old Street London EC1V 9NR
Tel: 020 7251 1551
Helpline: 0800 002200
Website: www.quit.org.uk
Offers advice on giving up smoking.
Separate helpline for:
Scotland: 0800 848 484 (12 noon–12 midnight)

Stroke Association
Stroke House 240 City Road London EC1V 2PR
Helpline: 0845 303 3100
Website: www.stroke.org.uk
Funds research and provides information; now specialising only in stroke. Local support groups.

THE INTERNET AS A SOURCE OF FURTHER INFORMATION

After reading this text, you may feel that you would like further information on the subject. The internet is of course an excellent place to look and there are many websites with useful information about medical disorders, related charities and support groups. For those who do not have a computer at home some bars and cafes offer facilities for accessing the internet. These are listed in the Yellow Pages under ‘Internet Bars and Cafes’ and ‘Internet Providers’. Your local library offers a similar facility and has staff to help you find the information that you need.
It should always be remembered, however, that the internet is unregulated and anyone is free to set up a website and add information to it. Many websites offer impartial advice and information that has been compiled and checked by qualified medical professionals. Some, on the other hand, are run by commercial organisations with the purpose of promoting their own products. Others still are run by pressure groups, some of which will provide carefully assessed and accurate information whereas others may be suggesting medications or treatments that are not supported by the medical and scientific community.
Unless you know the address of the website you want to visit – for example, www.familydoctor.co.uk – you may find the following guidelines useful when searching the internet for information.

SEARCH ENGINES AND OTHER SEARCHABLE SITES

Google (www.google.co.uk) is the most popular search engine used in the UK, followed by Yahoo! (http://uk.yahoo.com) and MSN (www.msn.co.uk). Also popular are the search engines provided by Internet Service Providers such as Tiscali and other sites such as the BBC site (www.bbc.co.uk).
In addition to the search engines that index the whole web, there are also medical sites with search facilities, which act almost like mini-search engines, but cover only medical topics or even a particular area of medicine. Again, it is wise to look at who is responsible for compiling the information offered to ensure that it is impartial and medically accurate. The NHS Direct site (www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk) is an example of a searchable medical site.
Links to many British medical charities can be found at the Association of Medical Research Charities’ website (www.amrc.org.uk) and at Charity Choice (www.charitychoice.co.uk).

SEARCH PHRASES

Be specific when entering a search phrase. Searching for information on ‘cancer’ will return results for many different types of cancer as well as on cancer in general. You may even find sites offering astrological information. More useful results will be returned by using search phrases such as ‘lung cancer’ and ‘treatments for lung cancer’. Both Google and Yahoo! offer an advanced search option that includes the ability to search for the exact phrase; enclosing the search phrase in quotes, that is, ‘treatments for lung cancer’, will have the same effect. Limiting a search to an exact phrase reduces the number of results returned but it is best to refine a search to an exact match only if you are not getting useful results with a normal search.
Adding ‘UK’ to your search term will bring up mainly British sites, so a good phrase might be ‘lung cancer’ UK (don’t include UK within the quotes).

WARNING

Always remember the internet is international and unregulated. It holds a wealth of valuable information but individual sites may be biased, out of date or just plain wrong. Family Doctor Publications accepts no responsibility for the content of links published in this series.