Personal Screening PLC
09 August 2006


For release Wednesday 9th August 2006 at 07.00



                             Personal Screening plc

                NEW STUDY USING THE 'SMOKESCREEN' TEST TO REDUCE
                              SMOKING IN PREGNANCY


Personal Screening plc is pleased to announce that its product SmokeScreen has
been selected for use in a trial by Aylesbury Primary Care Trust.

SmokeScreen, the test for smoking developed by Personal Screening's subsidiary
Mermaid Diagnostics Limited, which can be used in doctor's surgeries and
hospital clinics, is being used to advise pregnant women about the dangers of
smoking to their unborn baby and to themselves.

The 5-minute urine test which turns pink, with the heavier smokers turning the
darkest colour, can tell the mother how much nicotine and other harmful
chemicals from tobacco are getting into her bloodstream and then into her baby.
The test is used as an educational tool to help smokers understand more about
the damage caused by smoking.

Midwives based in Aylesbury, Amersham and Stoke Mandeville in Buckinghamshire
are targeting, amongst others, teenage pregnancies. The trial by Bucks Stop
Smoking Service, lead by Jane Giles will find out if showing the pregnant
mothers the level of their smoking will help them understand why the midwives
try so hard to get them to stop smoking.

Smoking in pregnancy is the focus of massive health campaigns through the
country, and this has contributed to a fall from 20% to 17% of the pregnant
population, but in women younger than 20 years old the percentage has increased
from 40 to 45%.

Jane Giles, the Mid and South Bucks Smoke Free Pregnancy Co-ordinator says "This
test is not about seeking out pregnant smokers, but more about motivating and
supporting those pregnant smokers who would like to stop smoking but are
struggling to do so".

Dr Graham Cope, Technical Director of  Mermaid, said "Stopping smoking in
pregnancy is the best thing a woman can do to ensure a healthier start in life
for her baby. I am delighted to work with such an enthusiastic group of
midwives, to use SmokeScreen to highlight the dangers of smoking in pregnancy".


Information for editors

Smoking in pregnancy is the greatest cause of preventable infant mortality and
morbidity - increasing of miscarriage and premature birth; and increasing the
risk of the baby suffering from chronic lung problems and sudden infant death
syndrome (SIDS).

Data supplied by the Stop Smoking Service show that:

Eighty percent of pregnant smokers would like to stop.

Up to a quarter of pregnant women do not tell the midwife that they are smoking,
and  many of  those that do under report the number of cigarettes they use.

The SmokeScreen test measures the breakdown chemicals from nicotine,
specifically a chemical called cotinine.

When a pregnant woman is told her levels of nicotine intake she is 20 times more
likely to quit smoking.


Contact details

Jane Giles,
Bucks Stop Smoking Service                            0845 27 07 222

Dr Graham Cope,
Mermaid Diagnostics Limited                           01384 352 717

Chris Steele                                          020 7034 4759
csteele@adventis.co.uk
Adventis Financial PR


                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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