McLaughlin & Harvey is delighted to have handed over Heart of the City’s flagship hotel. Forming part of the wider Heart of the City scheme in Sheffield City Centre, the project involved the demolition of existing buildings along Pinstone Street, with the retention of a four-storey masonry Victorian façade. Behind
Regional housing association Bromford has finalised a new sustainable finance deal with NatWest as it continues its focus on the development of new affordable, energy efficient homes. The 50,000 home social landlord has secured a £200 million sustainability linked loan with NatWest, one of the housing sector’s most prominent lenders,
The project will see the redevelopment of a 20-acre site, replacing the existing facility made up of two 1980s warehouses totalling 335,000 sq ft with a modern single storey warehouse. Glencar, a leading UK construction company that was recently ranked amongst Europe’s fastest growing businesses, has today announced that it
RED Construction Group, the specialist main contractor, has announced its appointment to complete the works on Alumno Group’s Hollis Wharf, the former Jubilee Centre, Bath. RED’s South West division is set to carry out the £13m mixed-use development, creating purpose-built student accommodation and commercial space. Designed by AWW Architects for
National property consultancy Carter Jonas has secured planning consent on behalf of St John’s College, Oxford to replace and extend the provision of student accommodation in St John Street in the centre of the city. Grade II College-owned buildings on St John Street will be refurbished to provide improved student
Work is progressing well on the new 70-apartment extra care development in Newport. Queenswood, located at Station Road, is being developed by The Wrekin Housing Group and is being built by Staffordshire-based Keon Homes. Ideally situated just a ten-minute walk into the market town, the scheme will provide high quality living space
Family-owned developer City & Country has announced several new promotions as the business continues to grow its operations across the UK. Amongst those promoted include Lee Kirtland, who has been promoted to Regional Design Manager based in the East region. Lee has been fundamental in helping to proactively solve problems
Directors optimistic for the future with a multi-million-pound confirmed order book and pipeline – James Dowds… A Ballymena Headquartered multi-disciplinary construction services group has achieved record sales and a return to profit for its financial year ending 31 March 2024. JF & H Dowds Limited whose principal activities include mechanical, electrical
Being a landlord is a wise idea if you are interested in property and want to make fairly easy money. Now, tenants are spending more time in rental properties than ever. With the right investment and ideas, it is possible to make a landlord’s business very successful. The financial side
More and more Tradesmen are trying to quit smoking while at work. Pouches such as Velo Nicotine Pouches that originate from Sweden, offer a smokeless option that fits well with the daily routines of tradesmen. However, it is crucial to approach such alternatives with a balanced perspective, acknowledging that they
BDC 318 : Jul 2024
McLaughlin & Harvey is delighted to have handed over Heart of the City’s flagship hotel. Forming part of the wider Heart of the City scheme in Sheffield City Centre, the project involved the demolition of existing buildings along Pinstone Street, with the retention of a four-storey masonry Victorian façade. Behind the retained façade, a new steel-framed Radisson Blu Hotel was constructed. The hotel includes 154-bedrooms, flexible banqueting and meeting spaces, and an upmarket rooftop bar and terrace affording views over the Peace Gardens. Renowned for its unparalleled service and style, the arrival of Radisson Blu is seen as a key driver in helping attract new business opportunities. Raising the city’s profile as a major destination for business and leisure. Construction works also included the refurbishment of the existing Gaumont Building, with retention of the structural frame, to transform the former cinema and nightclub into a mixed-use leisure complex with retail units at ground level. The site is prominent within the centre of the city and located in the city centre conservation area. Facing principal city landmarks such as City Hall on Barker’s Pool, and the Town Hall and Peace Gardens on Pinstone Street. McLaughlin & Harvey Operations Director Gary Bell commented, “As the main contractor for this flagship project, we’re proud to hand it over to Sheffield City Council. This has been an interesting but challenging project, retaining the historic Victorian façade while completing the hotel and leisure facilities to a high-quality modern standard. Our approach involved careful pre-planning and regular reviews of the ongoing impact of our works to maintain a positive image of the site. This couldn’t of happened without the commitment and collaboration of our project team and supply chain partners.” Kate Josephs, Chief Executive of Sheffield City Council, said, “We are delighted that our new Radisson Blu hotel is now open. Our significant investment and regeneration projects in the city centre are helping us attract some world-class brands and Radisson Blu undoubtedly raises the bar for hospitality in South Yorkshire. It will be a tremendous asset to Sheffield, featuring a public rooftop bar and restaurant, conference and event spaces to support our business community, and setting a new benchmark for accommodation that will help us attract visitors from far and wide.” Andrew Davison, Project Director at Queensberry, added, “Radisson Blu is recognised across the globe for its quality and style, and perfectly reflects the ambition and impact of Heart of the City. A lot of hard work has gone into making this hotel a reality and I’m incredibly proud of Sheffield Council, Queensberry and the whole project team.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Regional housing association Bromford has finalised a new sustainable finance deal with NatWest as it continues its focus on the development of new affordable, energy efficient homes. The 50,000 home social landlord has secured a £200 million sustainability linked loan with NatWest, one of the housing sector’s most prominent lenders, split into two £100 million tranches which mature in 10 and 11 years respectively. The loan will enable Bromford to build 1,300 new affordable homes, furthering its commitment to providing high-quality, affordable housing to communities across the West Midlands and West of England. Bromford’s Director of Treasury Imran Mubeen, said: “NatWest have been one of our key strategic funding partners for several years. The speed and focus with which we have closed this deal is a testimony to our relationship and underlines the ongoing importance of bank lending in our sector. We had considered a return to the capital markets this year, but we continue to refresh and optimise our new funding strategy in view of prevailing market conditions. This deal enables us to benefit from the prevailing arbitrage between the SONIA swap and gilt curve to generate significant interest savings over the life of the loan. Ultimately, this means we can invest even more in our communities and customers.” Bromford is one of the country’s leading developers of affordable housing and last year completed 1,191 new homes, including 308 for affordable rent and 551 for social rent. According to information from Inside Housing’s annual Biggest Builders survey, Bromford is ranked first in the country for the number of social rent homes completed during 2023-24 and has built more social rent homes than any other housing association in the country over the past four years1. Amanda Swann, Director of Development at Bromford said: “We exist to provide safe, affordable homes to people who are unable to access them through the market. With demand for affordable housing showing no signs of decreasing, we are committed to playing our part in tackling the housing crisis by continuing to build affordable homes. Our track record over the past few years demonstrates this commitment, especially around building homes for social rent which accounted for nearly half of all the homes we built last year. This loan from NatWest will allow us to continue our development programme to meet our ambition of building 11,000 new homes by 2032 with 65% at social and affordable rent tenures.” In line with Bromford’s commitment for all new funding to be sustainability linked, the loan with NatWest is the association’s seventh issue from its Sustainable Finance Framework which was first published and accredited in 2021. This deal is linked to Bromford-led targets focused on delivering new social rented homes and reducing Scope 1, 2 and 3 carbon emissions. Bromford will receive a discount on its interest payments if it meets the targets associated with the loan. Imran added: “Our shared vision with NatWest regarding sustainable finance created the first green loan in the sector in 2019 which focused on improving the energy efficiency of our homes and has helped to enable our decarbonisation journey with 89% of our homes now at EPC C or above. “This new deal captures our sustainability ambitions for a new era, as we continue to expand our new homes programme with a focus on social rented homes, and as we extend the focus of our carbon journey beyond EPC ratings to focus on our Scope 1, 2 and 3 carbon emissions. Importantly, the loan has the potential to generate over £1 million of interest savings if we successfully meet our sustainability targets which may challenge even the most sceptical of juries to reconsider the financial and broader benefits of sustainability linked loans.” Paul Eyre, Head of Residential and Housing Finance at NatWest Group said: “Our funding support to Bromford forms part of our ongoing commitment to supporting the social housing sector and its delivery of affordable, safe and energy efficient homes. “We announced an ambition earlier this year to provide £5bn of funding commitments to the social housing sector to December 2025.This additional funding brings our progress against this to £1.7bn. We are proud to help Bromford continue its great work of further investment in new affordable homes in the West Midlands and West of England.” Grant Vaughan, Treasury Adviser at Newbridge, said: “Having successfully accessed the private placement market in 2023, Bromford has now further diversified their funding base by securing term bank debt. This strategic move reflects Bromford’s pro-active commitment to securing competitively priced funding deals when they are in the market. The deal leverages the dislocation between the SONIA and gilt positions to deliver significant interest savings. “We at Newbridge are delighted to have supported Bromford’s treasury team in structuring, negotiating, and executing this latest sustainability-linked term loan. This collaboration not only underscores our commitment to fostering sustainable finance solutions but also highlights our ability to support our clients’ evolving financing needs in response to dynamic market conditions.” Over the past year Bromford has secured more than £650 million of sustainable finance to deliver the objectives set out in its Sustainable Finance Framework, from the delivery of new, affordable, more energy efficient homes to coaching more customers into employment and training and reducing the organisation’s gender pay gap. Legal advice was provided by Devonshires, Clarke Willmott and Trowers & Hamlins acting on behalf of Bromford and Addleshaw Goddard LLP acting on behalf of NatWest. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
The project will see the redevelopment of a 20-acre site, replacing the existing facility made up of two 1980s warehouses totalling 335,000 sq ft with a modern single storey warehouse. Glencar, a leading UK construction company that was recently ranked amongst Europe’s fastest growing businesses, has today announced that it has been appointed by Logicor, a leading owner, manager and developer of European logistics real estate to construct a 330,000 sq ft highly sustainable warehouse at Little Hulton, in Bolton. The project will see the redevelopment of a 20-acre site with demolition of the existing warehouses and removal and recycling of existing hard standings along with grouting of existing mine shafts and ground improvement across site, before constructing a brand new state-of-the-art, highly sustainable warehouse. The new facility will target BREEAM Outstanding and an EPC A rating. It will feature 311,500 sq ft of warehouse space, a 2,000 sq ft hub office and approximately 13,000 sq ft of office space over three storeys. It will feature upto 18M eaves height, as well as 32 dock and three level access doors. Other sustainability features include LED lighting, EV charging points and rainwater harvesting. The office pod will have a green roof to support local biodiversity and there will be an outdoor gym on site for employees to use. Construction will take 54 weeks with PC expected by Q4 2025. Speaking about the appointment Glencar CEO Eddie McGillycuddy said: “We are very happy to have been appointed by Logicor for the first time to deliver this BREEAM Outstanding warehouse development showcasing our commitment to excellence and our proven track record in successful project delivery. Logicor’s extensive presence across the UK and Europe, with properties and development sites situated in key strategic locations, close to major population centres and key distribution hubs, enables them to keep their customers goods moving through the supply chain and into society, every day. Glencar is proud to now become an integral part of the network and to be supporting Logicor’s UK asset redevelopment programme, appointed to transform this old redundant site into a modern, state-of-the art, highly sustainable warehouse. This development is also key in terms of Logicor’s stated aim to redevelop existing assets to support reaching the business’ ambitious sustainability target of a 36% carbon reduction by 2030”. Also commenting on the project, Logicor UK Development Director, Matt Storr: “We’ve continued to see demand for sustainable assets in prime locations grow. This development has strong sustainability credentials, which paired with the connectivity of its central location, makes it a unique and compelling offer on the market. We are very happy to have appointed Glencar and to be working together for the first time. They put forward an impressive programme featuring a host of sustainable construction practices and we look forward to seeing them in action and working closely together”. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
RED Construction Group, the specialist main contractor, has announced its appointment to complete the works on Alumno Group’s Hollis Wharf, the former Jubilee Centre, Bath. RED’s South West division is set to carry out the £13m mixed-use development, creating purpose-built student accommodation and commercial space. Designed by AWW Architects for accommodation specialists Alumno Group, the Hollis Wharf will span 45,000 sq ft across five-storeys, and is set for completion in summer 2025. RED South West will complete the 120-student apartment building, also creating a new bespoke commercial unit to provide a long-term space for the charity, Mercy in Action, that has been based in Bath for over 20 years. Catering specifically to the city’s student population needs, the development will feature cluster flats and studios, alongside a laundry room on the first floor and three accessible flats. Other features include various communal spaces, including an expansive living room on the first floor overlooking the river Avon, and an impressive external roof terrace on the fourth floor. Situated within a World Heritage Site, Housing Development Boundary, and Enterprise Area, the Hollis Wharf will be adjacent to two Grade II listed buildings, Twerton Viaduct and Rackfield Place. RED Construction Group is committed to minimising the environmental impact of the works and respecting the heritage of the area, both crucial considerations within the construction team’s process. The development has been designed with sustainability front of mind, featuring photovoltaic panels (PV) on the roof, electric heating, alongside various planting including a living wall on the north elevation, green roofs, and bird and bat boxes. Derek Quinn, Executive Director of RED Construction South West, commented: “The trust that Alumno has put in RED South West to complete work on the Hollis Wharf is testament to our reputation within the region, and we are proud to be a part of what is set to be an amazing riverside location for the students of Bath. The historical significance of the location is not lost on us, and we are dedicated to carrying out the works in a considered and sustainable fashion, uplifting the local community through our ‘RED to Green’ approach to building within the region.” David Campbell, Founder and Managing Director of Alumno Group, added: “There is huge demand for high-quality student accommodation in Bath, with the student population a significant portion of the local community. Following the works carried out by a previous contractor, it was crucial and imperative that we partnered with a team who had a strong track record and reputation for delivery in the region. Who could also mitigate the project’s challenges, as well as hit the ground running to drive the scheme forward within the time frames required. We are pleased to have found that certainty and confidence within RED Construction Group’s South West team and appreciate their dedication to getting things turned round and on track.” This announcement follows the news that RED Construction Group’s South West division has recently celebrated a major milestone in the creation of the £22m Zeal Hotel in Exeter Science Park, one of the UK’s first full life cycle net zero carbon hotels. Recently marking the final stages of the build with a topping out ceremony, the hotel is being constructed with half the embodied carbon of a standard hotel, while generating 100 percent of its electricity through solar panels, achieving BREEAM Outstanding at the design stage. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
National property consultancy Carter Jonas has secured planning consent on behalf of St John’s College, Oxford to replace and extend the provision of student accommodation in St John Street in the centre of the city. Grade II College-owned buildings on St John Street will be refurbished to provide improved student accommodation and a new, contemporary single storey common room added to the rear of the terraced properties. External spaces to the rear of St John Street will be relandscaped to create improved external spaces and communal amenities for the students. In common with other Oxford University colleges, St John’s is increasingly under pressure to find suitable accommodation for its growing number of graduate students. This planning consent forms part of a wider review by the College to optimise the use of its existing sites, especially those close to the city centre. In doing so, it will accommodate considerably more students than previously within its own property estate and contribute positively to Oxford City Council’s aim to see as many of Oxford’s student population as possible housed within College-provided accommodation. Work has already begun on site. Award-winning contractor Beard is upgrading the external fabric to significantly reduce heat loss and is installing high performance woodfibre insulation to the internal face of the building. This will greatly increase energy performance at the same time as allowing traditional stonework to breathe. The works also include replacing gas boiler systems with air source heat pumps to provide heating and hot water. To improve air tightness and soundproofing, Beard is upgrading the windows with sensitively designed, secondary internal glazing. The design team has carefully pursued this approach to minimise the impact on the external appearance of the listed buildings. Other special historic features, including existing floors and stonework, will also be protected. Huw Mellor, Partner at Carter Jonas in Oxford commented, ‘We are extremely pleased that once again we have worked with an Oxford University college to increase the provision of high-quality student accommodation and make considerable improvements to a key city centre site which retain its unique historic character while also making the building more sustainable.’ Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Work is progressing well on the new 70-apartment extra care development in Newport. Queenswood, located at Station Road, is being developed by The Wrekin Housing Group and is being built by Staffordshire-based Keon Homes. Ideally situated just a ten-minute walk into the market town, the scheme will provide high quality living space and wraparound care and support for people over the age of 55. Supported by Homes England, the £11.9m development will offer 70 one and two-bedroom apartments, all of which will be available for affordable rent to local people. Queenswood has been designed to promote independent living in a community setting, with a care team on-site 24/7 to deliver planned care packages if needed. Residents will also benefit from a range of facilities. It will be complemented by a café and landscaped gardens, which will also be accessible to the local community. Simon Thompson, Director of Development at the Wrekin Housing Group said: “Queenswood will bring huge benefits to Newport and its surrounding communities. This is an exciting project that is helping meet the growing demand for older people’s housing and has created much-needed job opportunities for local people. “Our ShireLiving brand has a strong track record when it comes to providing modern, secure and vibrant facilities that allow our tenants to enjoy a hassle-free retirement. We’re delighted to be working with Keon on this exciting development.” Paula Reynolds, Head of Retirement Housing at The Wrekin Housing Group, said: “The Wrekin Housing Group provides affordable homes for over 28,000 people, and we’re one of the largest providers of extra care housing in the region. “Queenswood, like all our ShireLiving schemes, gives people the provision to stay within their local communities and access services close to home. It has been designed in such a way that allows us to respond to individuals changing care needs with on-site care support. “We’re really looking forward to bringing an extra care scheme to the Newport community giving choice to individuals to live independently while providing numerous housing and care employment opportunities.” Matt Beckley, Head of Development at Keon Homes, concluded: “Queenswood was our first foray into the Extra Care scheme market and, thanks to the strength of our partnership with The Wrekin Group, has been a huge success so far. “Not only have we unlocked a vital piece of land for much-needed affordable older living, but we are also well on the way to completing the build ahead of the planned schedule – this is unheard of in this sector. “There is an acute shortage of older person’s accommodation in Shropshire, and we are keen to help solve this intricate puzzle by helping to build more high-quality Extra Care schemes – starting with a second development with The Wrekin Housing Group due to start shortly in Shrewsbury.” For further investment, please visit www.keonhomes.co.uk Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Family-owned developer City & Country has announced several new promotions as the business continues to grow its operations across the UK. Amongst those promoted include Lee Kirtland, who has been promoted to Regional Design Manager based in the East region. Lee has been fundamental in helping to proactively solve problems ahead of construction, constantly striving to improve the performance and design of our developments. Sharyn King was also promoted to Head of Finance. Sharyn manages the finance team function at the company and will lead day-to-day operations. While Adam Van-West has been appointed Commercial Director in the West region in recognition of his contribution to the business in the last two years with commercial procedures, team improvements, and helping to enhance the Western region. Other promotions include David Haskell to Build Manager and Matt Ward to Project Manager. Lee Kirtland, comments: “Building on our reputation for high-quality design across our heritage and new build projects, I am committed to developing our exciting pipeline with a focus on retaining these details whilst ensuring our homes align with the forthcoming Future Homes Standard. I am delighted to be promoted to contribute to the business’ aspirations in the Eastern Region, as part of its wider five-year growth plan.” Wayne Douglas, Managing Director at City & Country, added: “I’m delighted to share our latest round of promotions at City & Country to help support our ambitious growth plans. We still have a lot to do and a long way to go but with the Team’s assistance to continuously improve our business, I’m confident we will get where we need to be sooner. Our people are crucial to our success and growth and this year’s promotions are a testament to the dedication and hard work of the team across our business. Congratulations to all these individuals and their achievements over the last 12 months.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Directors optimistic for the future with a multi-million-pound confirmed order book and pipeline – James Dowds… A Ballymena Headquartered multi-disciplinary construction services group has achieved record sales and a return to profit for its financial year ending 31 March 2024. JF & H Dowds Limited whose principal activities include mechanical, electrical and specialist construction contracting grew its turnover to £72.7m – up 37.4% on the previous year’s figure of £53.1m. The business generated a pre-tax profit of almost £1.5m. The directors attributed the strong performance to increasing operational efficiencies and focusing on an enhanced end-to-end supply chain to mitigate cost increases. Meanwhile, the company’s Working Capital position and liquidity remains strong with cash at the bank at year-end of £6.6m (2023; £2.1m). Managing Director, James Dowds said: “These results show a return to steady rate growth and profitability for the Company after previous years where results were constrained by Covid, war in Europe, inflationary pressures, and high interest rates, all of which impacted on company operations and slowed both private and public sector investment in the construction sector. “We believe we are now seeing the rewards of having a wide service offering for our customers across the UK and Ireland.” James Dowds said the directors were optimistic for the future with a multi-million-pound confirmed order book and pipeline for the next 18 months and line of sight further into 2026 and beyond. He added: “A key strategic goal for the company is to keep people at the centre of what we do. In the past two years, the company has invested in new offices to ensure our teams can work collaboratively and efficiently in a creative working environment. “The company invested in a new headquarters in Ballymena with occupation taken up in August 2023. As well as being Headquarters for the business, Ballymena is the hub for our Ireland and the rest of Great Britain operations. For London and the Southeast of England, the company purchased premises in Kings Cross, London. These significant investments demonstrate our commitment to our team employed in the various operating regions and our London investment has helped establish the company as a key player in the local market.” James Dowds said the business had continued to invest in its recently launched Energy Services division with sales more than doubling in the last 12 months. He said the directors believe this will continue to be a high-growth division over the next few years, adding the company will also continue to expand into the Fit-out sector through a joint-venture to seek out higher returns working direct to clients. In the past year, JF & H Dowds Limited has completed a number of high-profile projects including: Ongoing and pipeline projects: Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Being a landlord is a wise idea if you are interested in property and want to make fairly easy money. Now, tenants are spending more time in rental properties than ever. With the right investment and ideas, it is possible to make a landlord’s business very successful. The financial side of being a landlord might be the most challenging part. If you lack financial experience, it can be tough to keep on top of finances, let alone know what to do if things go wrong. We all make mistakes, so don’t panic if something goes wrong. Here, you can find out how to simplify landlord life. If finances panic you, you will discover how to protect your finances and guarantee financial safety. Getting the best type of insurance As a landlord, you must understand how important it is to have insurance. You don’t want any random type of insurance. You need to have the right insurance so that you are covered for any tenant or building issue that is out of your hands. The worst thing that could happen can be covered if you sort the right insurance. Rent guarantee insurance is wise as it protects landlords against a loss of income. If tenants forget to pay or have their own financial struggles, you can get covered and paid. You don’t need to worry about being out of pocket when you have the right insurance. Trusting your tradespeople When you have tenants and run a business, you might not have time to fix things. Unless you have the right experience, hiring tradespeople to help fix anything that goes wrong is good. From painters to electricians, you’ll need a list of contacts to help when tenants ask for assistance. You need to trust these tradespeople. Otherwise, you’ll end up paying more than you bargained for. Trusted tradespeople will guarantee to help keep your finances low. Keeping up constant contact with tenants It is beneficial for you and your tenants to keep in contact. If things go wrong and they don’t tell you, you could be hugely out of pocket when they move out. Regular checking of the property and check-ins via email will ensure that everything is running smoothly, which will help any landlord protect their income. Building a secure contract Building a contract might not be your level of expertise if you lack legal training. It is best to hire legal help when putting your landlord and tenant agreement together. This will cover you in any event and make sure that your finances are secured and protected against loss. Be sure to get it proofread by a lawyer to guarantee it is safe to send to tenants. Getting appliance cover Your rented properties will likely offer appliances such as refrigerators and ovens. If this is the case, you will need to get appliance coverage. If something goes wrong with an appliance, you can seek repairs or replacement without spending more money. It costs very little to seek such cover, yet you will be much better off if something does happen.
More and more Tradesmen are trying to quit smoking while at work. Pouches such as Velo Nicotine Pouches that originate from Sweden, offer a smokeless option that fits well with the daily routines of tradesmen. However, it is crucial to approach such alternatives with a balanced perspective, acknowledging that they are not entirely risk-free. The smoking challenge in the construction industry Smoking has since long been a common habit among tradesmen. The demanding nature of the industry, with high stress levels and rigorous physical work, often leads workers to seek quick relief during their breaks. The prevalence of smoking is notably high, with many tradesmen relying on cigarettes to cope with the pressures of their job. However, the physically taxing environment makes it difficult for many to abandon the habit, as smoking is often associated with moments of respite and socializing. Also, the entrenched smoking culture within the industry makes it harder to quit. Accordingly, the need for effective and convenient alternatives such as nicotine pouches are apparent. Health risks associated with smoking Smoking remains one of the leading causes of preventable disease and death worldwide. The link between smoking and lung cancer is well-established, with studies showing that smokers are 15 to 30 times more likely to develop lung cancer than non-smokers. Additionally, smoking significantly increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases, such as heart attacks and strokes, by damaging the blood vessels and heart muscles. Respiratory issues are also prevalent among smokers, with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) being a common outcome. According to the World Health Organization, smoking kills more than 8 million people every year. This demonstrates the urgent need for effective cessation strategies and exploration of options for those struggling to quit. Nicotine pouches as an alternative Nicotine pouches have emerged as a popular smokeless alternative for those looking to reduce or quit smoking. These small, discreet pouches are placed between the gum and upper lip, where they release nicotine. Thus, they offer a similar sensation to smoking without the need for combustion. One of the main benefits of nicotine pouches is their convenience; they can be used anywhere, at any time, without producing smoke or odor. Thus, they are well suited for tradesmen who are often on the move. Additionally, the lack of smoke means that the by-products of burning tobacco are avoided, which is a significant advantage over traditional cigarettes. This ease of use and discretion makes nicotine pouches an option for those in the construction industry, as a practical solution to maintain a desired nicotine intake without the disadvantages of smoking. Risks and considerations of nicotine pouches While nicotine pouches offer a smoke-free alternative to traditional cigarettes, they are not without their own set of risks. One primary concern is addiction; nicotine is highly addictive, and users of nicotine pouches can become dependent on them just as they might with cigarettes. Additionally, there are potential oral health issues associated with prolonged use of these pouches. Scientific studies have indicated that frequent use can lead to gum irritation, gum disease, and other dental problems due to the consistent exposure to nicotine and other substances contained in the pouches. However, by being careful and ultimately aiming to completely stop using nicotine, crafters can take advantage of using nicotine pouches as a smoking cessation tool.
