Smokers across North Yorkshire are being challenged to give the habit up for good this October.
The challenge is part of Stoptober, the country’s biggest mass quitting attempt. Smoking is still the biggest preventable cause of ill health and early death in North Yorkshire, killing over 1,000 people in the county every year. Research shows that stopping smoking for 28 days means you are five times more likely to stop for good.
“Quitting smoking is hugely beneficial for your health, and the health of everyone around you,” said County Councillor Caroline Dickinson, North Yorkshire’s Executive Member for Public Health, Prevention and Supported Housing.
“We know that kicking the habit can be a real challenge. But Stoptober provides an excellent opportunity to quit for good, with plenty of support and encouragement. If you want to quit, just search ‘Stoptober’ online to access free support, advice and information, including Facebook chat.
“And in North Yorkshire, there’s additional free support available from Smokefreelife North Yorkshire, the stop smoking service funded by the County Council. When you get support through a stop-smoking service to quit, you’re more likely to be successful than if you go it alone”.
Smokefreelife North Yorkshire offers a free, flexible support package to suit the individual. Smokers wanting to stop can attend clinics, drop-ins, receive nicotine replacement therapy or talk to specialist advisers over the phone. Visit www.smokefreelifenorthyorkshire.co.uk, call 0800 2465215 or 01609 663023 or text QUIT to 66777 to find out more.
It is also an e-cigarette friendly stop smoking service. That means anyone who wants to use an e-cigarette to help them to give up can still use face-to-face support and clinics that the service provides. E-cigarettes are now the most popular aid to quitting smoking and carry only a fraction of the risk that smoking tobacco does.
Public Health England advice is that smokers – particularly those who have tried other quitting methods without success – should try e-cigarettes; and people who are both vaping and smoking at the same time should make the full switch and stop smoking completely.