Stoptober challenge for local smokers

Stub it out: Rochdale Borough Council and NHS staff push a giant stop button to launch Stoptober – the nation’s biggest ever stop smoking challenge

It’s not too late for smokers in Rochdale to kick the habit this October as part of the UK’s annual mass quit attempt – Stoptober.

Rochdale has an estimated 38,062 smokers and this costs local public services approximately £63m every year through early death, illness, litter and fires associated with smoking.

The local stop smoking service, provided by Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust, has teamed up with Rochdale Council’s public health team to encourage as many of these smokers as possible to quit for 28-days during the month of October.

The stop smoking team has been offering free advice and support to help smokers stay on track and ensure they continue to be smokefree for life.

“If someone can stop smoking for 28 days, they are five times more likely to quit for good,” said Amanda Godding, Specialist Stop Smoking Advisor from Pennine Care.

“It’s one of the hardest things a person can do, but our experienced staff can provide advice about the best treatments and medications to help, as well as supporting people every step of the way.”

Council Leader and Lead Member for Health, Councillor Colin Lambert added: “We want to help as many people as possible in Rochdale to quit and the Stoptober campaign provides a great opportunity to get some extra support.”

People will feel the health and financial benefits of giving up smoking almost straight away. Within eight hours, nicotine and carbon monoxide levels in the blood will be halved and after 24 hours, carbon monoxide and nicotine are eliminated from the body and oxygen levels are returned to normal.

Coughs and wheezing will decline after three to nine months of not smoking. And in the long-term, after ten years of not smoking, the risk of getting lung cancer falls to half of that of a smoker.”

People who sign up to the campaign will be sent a free stop smoking pack; mobile phone app and text support with daily updates and quitting advice; and detailed tools and tips for coping. They will also benefit from the support and encouragement from thousands of quitters across the country through Stoptober social media.

The stop smoking team will also be running clinics within the community and details are available by phoning the team on the number below. Free support throughout Stoptober and beyond is available to anyone wishing to kick the habit.

Top tips for kicking the habit:

1. Get some quitting support - join in the Stoptober challenge and take advantage of the great free support.

2. Think positive - you might have given up before, but tell yourself that you’re really going to do it this time.

3. Make a plan to quit smoking - make a promise, set a date and stick to it.

4. Change your diet - a US study revealed that some foods, including meat, make cigarettes more satisfying. Others, including cheese, fruit and vegetables, make cigarettes taste terrible. So swap your usual steak or burger for a veggie pizza instead.

5. Change your drink - fizzy drinks, alcohol, cola, tea and coffee all make cigarettes taste better, so drink more water and juice.

6. Identify when you crave cigarettes - a craving can last five minutes. Before you give up, make a list of five-minute strategies. For example, you could leave the party for a minute, dance or go to the bar. And think about this: the combination of smoking and drinking heavily raises your risk of mouth cancer by 38 times.

7. Get moving - A review of scientific studies has proved that exercise (even a five-minute walk or stretch) cuts cravings and may help your brain to produce anti-craving chemicals.

8. Make non-smoking friends - when you’re at a party, stick with the non-smokers.

9. Keep your hands and mouth busy - nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) can make you twice as likely to succeed. As well as patches, there are tiny tablets, lozenges, gum and a nasal spray.

10. Make a list of reasons to quit - keep reminding yourself why you gave up.

Andrea Crossfield, Chief Executive of Tobacco Free Futures, added: “The tobacco industry works hard to keep people smoking. Stoptober is a great chance to break away from this addiction and start to feel the health and financial benefits of becoming smokefree.

“As well as the money saved from stopping smoking – an average of £4,000 a year for two parents who smoke – quitters will start to notice immediate health improvements including a better sense of smell and taste and more energy. Longer term, those who stop smoking reduce their risk of heart disease and lung cancer as well as protecting others from their secondhand smoke”.

Stoptober 2013 started on Tuesday 1 October and will run for 28 days. For more information and to sign up visit www.smokefree.nhs.uk/Stoptober or call the Rochdale Stop Smoking Service on 0161 655 1581.