Back “don’t quit on us” campaign, says Dr Nicola Jeffery-Sykes

Dr Nicola Jeffery-Sykes

People in Rochdale are being urged to back a hard-hitting initiative to protect stop smoking services.

Dr Nicola Jeffery-Sykes, who has brittle asthma and recurring cancer, is calling for councillors in Rochdale to support Cancer Research UK’s ‘Don’t Quit On Us’ campaign, which urges the Government to solve the public health funding crisis.

Smoking is the single biggest preventable cause of cancer in the UK. It is linked to 14 different types of the disease including lung cancer, which is the North West’s leading cause of cancer death. Around 4,800 people die from the disease every year.

Stop smoking services are around three times more effective at helping smokers to quit, in comparison to those trying to go it alone.

Rochdale has a smoking rate above the England average, around 22 per cent of people in Rochdale smoke.

Dr Jeffery-Sykes, who works as a Cancer Research UK Campaigns Ambassador, is calling for the public to email their local councillors and ask them to help protect stop smoking services.

She said: “It’s deeply concerning that smoking rates in Rochdale and the North West remain so high.

“If the Government is serious about tackling cancer then marking councils’ public health budgets for substantial cuts is short-sighted. The work of local authorities like Rochdale Council is vital, they’re on the frontline helping people stop smoking and ultimately, they are helping to save lives.

“We need as many councillors as possible to support our call to protect stop smoking services and show the Government that we aren’t about to let them quit on us.”

So far over 626 councillors have added their name in support of the Cancer Research UK Don’t Quit On Us campaign from over 223 different councils across the UK. This includes 123 councillors from the North West.