York residents urged to stop smoking and get behind Stoptober

City of York Council is supporting this year’s Stoptober campaign and is urging the people of York to sign up to the 28-day stop smoking challenge.

Last year, nearly 400,000 smokers in England quit successfully,1 which is the equivalent to 1,069 smokers each day.

Despite new smokers starting and ex-smokers relapsing, there are now 1 million fewer smokers in England since 20142.

Of the 6.1 million smokers in England, six in 10 want to quit3 but most try to quit using willpower alone (or ‘cold turkey’) despite this being the least effective method.

The best way to quit is with expert help from local stop smoking services together with stop smoking aids. In 2017-18, half (51%) of smokers who got this package of support managed to quit and among those who used an e-cigarette in their quit attempt, the success rate was up to 63%.4

Councillor Carol Runciman, executive member for adult social care and health said: “Our YorWellbeing service is there to support people who want to quit. Campaigns such as Stoptober, along with the support provided by local stop smoking services, play a huge role in helping people to kick the habit.

“Anyone who wants to join in the Stoptober campaign and stop smoking can get support by calling our team on 01904 553377 or visiting the Stoptober website.”

Dr Nigel Wells, a GP and NHS Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group’s Clinical Chair, said: “Smoking increases your risk of developing many serious health conditions – some of which may be fatal, while others can cause irreversible long-term damage to your health.

“Giving up smoking could help you to live a longer and healthier life so if you’re thinking of stopping smoking, speak to your GP who can provide information and advice, or you can call the NHS Smokefree helpline on 0300 123 1044 for guidance.

“It’s never too late to give up and initiatives such as Stoptober can act as a huge motivator to help you succeed in quitting permanently.”

To contact the Yorwellbeing stop smoking service call 01904 553377 or visit: www.york.gov.uk/stopsmoking for more information.

For information on Stoptober, or to sign up visit: www.nhs.uk/oneyou/stoptober.

Figures show smoking will kill one in two – don’t be the 1, now is the time to quit

City of York Council is supporting a regional stop smoking campaign, don’t be the 1, and encouraging those that want to quit to contact the council’s YorWellbeing service.

The “Don’t Be The 1” campaign from Breathe 2025 highlights how one in two smokers[i] will die from a smoking related disease, some in their 40s and 50s and is asking smokers to quit for the sake of their family. These odds are infinitely greater than the reported risks of being hit by a bus (around two in a million) or the chance of becoming a millionaire on the National Lottery (around one in ten million).

Worryingly, surveys show nine out of ten smokers underestimate the one in two risk, with around half believing their risk to be one in ten or less.

As well as York, the don’t be the 1 campaign is running in Hull, East Riding, North Lincs, North East Lincs and North Yorkshire for four weeks.

For more information visit http://www.dontbethe1.tv/ , those who want to quit in York are asked to contact the council’s YorWellbeing service on 01904 553377 or email yorwellbeing@york.gov.uk

Councillor Carol Runciman, Executive Member for Health and Adult Social Care said: “Smoking can have long lasting and devastating impacts on people’s health, which is why we have joined together with our partners and are supporting the don’t be the 1 campaign.

“In the run up to Stoptober there are more ways to quit than ever before and we are urging people to give it a go. Studies show you are more than four times more likely to quit with help. Our YorWellbeing service is there to help people quit and I would urge smokers who want to quit to get in touch.”

Dr Caroline Everett, Consultant Respiratory Physician, York Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Stopping smoking is one of the single most effective things you can do to improve your health and life expectancy. Quitting smoking early can prevent the onset of many different life-limiting and life-threatening health conditions such as COPD, heart disease and cancer. However, it is never too late to give up.

“We also have lots of evidence from studies in many different conditions which show that, even once a smoking-related health condition has developed, people who quit live longer and with better health-status than those who continue to smoke.”

York residents urged to stop smoking and get behind “Stoptober”

City of York Council is supporting this year’s Stoptober campaign and is urging the people of York to sign up to the 28-day stop smoking challenge.

There has never been a better time to quit smoking and the campaign follows data published in a University College of London (UCL) report which showed that nationally quitting success rates are at their highest for at least a decade.

The report showed success rates were up to 19.8 per cent for the first six months of this year.  This is significantly higher than the average for the last 10 years (15.7 per cent) and means smoking rates across the Yorkshire and Humber area are now at their lowest level ever (17.7 per cent) and there are now more ex-smokers than current smokers.

It doesn’t matter how long people have smoked for, stopping smoking can improve your health straight away. It can also protect loved ones from second hand smoke and illnesses such as asthma, meningitis and some cancers. People who smoke a pack a day, could save as much as £250 per month by quitting.
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