Publications and awards

What have the authors published on smoking recording?

In date order. Each citation was checked in October 2026; Dr Masters confirmed the 2018 article from his own copy of the GKT Gazette, published since 1872.

1. 2006. Masters N, Tutt C, Eades J. Early diagnosis of COPD. Br J Gen Pract. 2006;56(533):969. Read it on PubMed Central. Current or ex-smokers “over 40 years, with history of 15-pack-years or greater” were invited for spirometry, as an aid to detecting COPD.
2. 2012. Masters NJ, Tutt C. QRISK2 and the limitations of recording smoking in primary care. BMJ. 2012;345:e5453. doi:10.1136/bmj.e5453.
3. 2012. Masters N, Tutt C, Yaseen N. Waterpipe tobacco smoking and cigarette equivalence. Br J Gen Pract. 2012;62(596):127. doi:10.3399/bjgp12X631231.
4. 2018. Dr Masters and Ms Tutt. Rethinking smoking recording in general practice. GKT Gazette, vol 132:2, pages 42-45, Winter 2018. As given in this site’s 2019 news item.
5. 2020. Masters NJ. Smoking pack years calculator. Br J Gen Pract. 2020;70(694):230. Read it on PubMed Central. Dr Masters is the sole author. It opens: “Clinical scoring systems have their limitations but they do create numbers that can be searched by computers”, and reports that the free online calculator had been used over a million times.
6. 2023. Masters N. Lung cancer screening will be hampered by poor recording of searchable smoking terminology in GP computer systems. BMJ. 2023;382:p1892. doi:10.1136/bmj.p1892. A letter, published on 17 August 2023, arguing that the smoking codes used to select people for screening “are not numerate but descriptive and are difficult to search”. Its full text is on this site.

Has the calculator won an award?

Yes. The smoking pack year calculator was highly commended in the Best use of Media and Technology category of the GP Enterprise Awards 2012. The judges said: “The simplicity and usefulness of this calculator, and the generosity of its creators, mean that we should take every opportunity to disseminate its availability.”

What awards have the authors won?

Nigel Masters and Catherine Tutt won the 2006 National Guidelines in Practice Award, COPD section, for their holistic approach to COPD care. The FAQs explain that their decision to be more proactive in detecting COPD, which often has no symptoms, led them to recognise the need for a simple pack year calculator.

Dr Masters has also won awards for clinical indications, his idea of adding clinical and safety indications to repeat prescriptions. They are listed on his page and at clinicalindications.co.uk.