Southport residents urged to make 2019 the year you Quit smoking for good

To coincide with a new Public Health England (PHE) campaign highlighting the devastating harms from smoking and how this can be avoided, people in Lancashire are being urged tostop smoking this New Year with help from the Quit Squad.

As part of the ‘Health Harms’ campaign, Public Health England has released a film that encourages smokers to make a quit attempt this January by demonstrating the personal and harm to health from every single cigarette. The film features smoking expert Dr Lion Shahab and Dr Rosemary Leonard carrying out an experiment to visually demonstrate the high levels of cancer-causing chemicals and tar inhaled by an average smoker over a month, compared to not smoking or using an e-cigarette.

With this in mind, the Trust’s Quit Squad is urging local smokers to contact the service and be offered face to face advice and support and the most appropriate treatment from specialist advisors. If you live in Lancashire and are thinking of quitting, contact the Quit Squad and take thefirst steps towards a healthier smoke-free life.

Gareth Beck from the Quit Squad said:

“Smoking is a deadly dependency and one of the biggest causes of avoidable death. There are over150,000 smokers just in Lancashire and we want to encourage as many of those as possible to stop smokingwith our specialist support. To access the service just pick up the phone and give us a call on freephone 0800 3286297. The service offers free one-to-one support along with stop smoking medicines that are available free for those who qualify or at the cost of prescription.

The Quit Squad offer sessions in a variety of settings where you can make an appointment or drop-in at your convenience, so there is an option to suit everyone. We really want every smoker in Lancashire to take advantage of the free Quit Squad support we offer – you are 4 times more likely to quit with our support. I know how difficult it is to stop but the important thing is to commit to trying again, no matter how many times you might have tried and failed in the past – it’s never too late, to quit.”

The Quit Squad is a service delivered by Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust and funded by Lancashire County Council. You can access the service in your local community by visiting a drop-in clinic (for which no appointments are required) or by attending a one-to-one session. The Quit Squad also offers sessions in the community and workplace. For further details, telephone 0800 3286297, visit www.quitsquad.nhs.uk, or follow the Quit Squad on Twitter @LancashireCare#QuitSquad.