Sefton Council is supporting Public Health England’s (PHE) New Year campaign and encouraging smokers to contact their local stop smoking service and quit for good this new year to improve their health and decrease the number of people suffering from COPD in the future.
PHE’s new campaign highlights the debilitating nature of serious lung diseases for which smoking is the biggest preventable risk factor, after the latest figures revealed that:
1. The number of people diagnosed with COPD in Sefton reached 6,626 (4,149 in South Sefton CCG and 2,477 in Southport and Formby CCG).
2. 553 deaths in Sefton between 2012 and 2014 were attributable to COPD
COPD is the umbrella term for serious lung conditions that include chronic bronchitis and emphysema. People with COPD have difficulties breathing, primarily due to the narrowing of their airways and destruction of lung tissue.
Typical symptoms include breathlessness when active, a persistent cough and frequent chest infections. Large numbers of people with COPD are unable to participate in everyday activities such as climbing stairs, housework or gardening; with many even unable to take a holiday because of their disease.
Smokers looking to quit are being encouraged to contact their local stop smoking service where they are four times more likely to quit for good with expert advice, support and medication on prescription. Suggested steps for preparing to quit include:
1. Contact your local stop smoking service to set up a meeting
2. Set a quit date
3. Tell family and friends you plan to quit to gain their support and help
4. Anticipate and plan for challenges while quitting
• Think about how you may feel when you first quit but remember that this is temporary, no matter how powerful it feels at the time.
• Know your smoking triggers (specific people, places, or activities that make you feel like smoking) so you can learn to deal with them.
• Plan ahead and come up with a list of short activities you can do when you get a craving.
5. Remove cigarettes and other tobacco from your home‚ car‚ and work
Cllr Ian Moncur, Cabinet Member Health and Wellbeing, said: “I urge everyone across the borough that would like to quit smoking to use the New Year as a new start and name January 1 2016 as the day they become smokefree for good.
“Quitting is the single best thing you can do for your health and you don’t need to go through your quit journey alone. Our local stop smoking is here to help you and you can also join together and quit with friends, family and colleagues to help you in your quit attempt.”
If you would like to quit smoking contact your local stop smoking service on 0300 100 1000 and search ‘Smokefree’ online or visit nhs.uk/smokefree for the full range of free tools and support.
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