Smokers encouraged to join Stoptober and quit for good

Date: 27/10/2022 | Category: News 2022

Stoptober was back, calling on smokers in Buckinghamshire to join more than 2.5 million others who have made a quit attempt with the campaign since it launched a decade ago in 2012.

Nearly 10% of Buckinghamshire adults still smoke still smoke which is extremely worrying because smoking still remains the single biggest behavioural cause of preventable death, with 64,000 deaths a year.

This year’s Stoptober mass quit attempt was as important as ever, with quitting being one of the best things a smoker can do for their health and for the health of the people around them. That’s why this year’s Stoptober campaign encouraged smokers to join the thousands of others who are giving quitting a go for the month of October – making it to 28 days smoke free means you’re five times as likely to quit for good.

Quitting will allow you to start moving better, breathe more easily – and give you more money to spend. With the rising cost of living, there’s never been a better time to quit. On average, smokers in England spend £38.59 on tobacco per week. Therefore, they could save £167.22 per month and £2,006.68 per year from quitting smoking.

A range of free quitting tools are on offer even beyond October including: the NHS Quit Smoking app, Facebook messenger bot, Stoptober Facebook online communities, daily emails and SMS, and an online Personal Quit Plan tool.  It provides information and advice on proven quitting methods – expert support from local Stop Smoking Services and the range of stop smoking aids, including further information on how vaping can help you quit. Just search ‘Stoptober’ for more information.

Free and friendly local support is also provided by Live Well Stay Well. To get started all you need to do for help and advice on quitting smoking, is text ‘SMOKE’ to 60777.

The Trust also launched a Tobacco Dependency Service for hospital inpatients on 10th October. This service will initially be piloted across 3 wards with two Tobacco Dependency Advisors who will be visiting patients on those wards, offering nicotine replacement therapy (NRT). Once patients are discharged, they will then be referred to the Live Well, Stay Well community service.

Andrew McLaren, Chief Medical Officer at Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, said: “Smoking kills people with significant numbers of smokers dying earlier than they should as a direct result of tobacco. We recognise that it can be tough to quit and tough to stick to quitting. Which is why I would urge smokers to access the support available online, and please take time to find out how our Tobacco Dependency Service could support you during your hospital stay. You don’t need to struggle alone!”