Hartlepool Borough Council and Fresh back Stoptober campaign to help people quit smoking
Supporters of an annual quit smoking crusade have urged Hartlepool people to join the 2.5 million people who have made an attempt to quit the killer habit in previous campaign.
Fresh and Balance, the United Kingdom’s first dedicated regional programme for tobacco and alcohol control, and Hartlepool Borough Council are supporting Stoptober 2024, which encourages smokers to stop smoking for 28 days in October.
More than five million adults in England smoke, which causes 64,000 deaths every year, making it the biggest cause of preventable illness and death.
Research by Public Health England suggests that smokers who complete the Stoptober challenge are five times more likely to quit for good.
Councillor Tom Feeney, deputy leader of the council, said: “Every year around 74,000 people die in England from smoking from diseases such as lung cancer, with many more living with debilitating smoking-related illnesses such as COPD.
"Smoking increases your risk of developing more than 50 serious health conditions.
“Just give it a go for Stoptober – it doesn’t matter if you have tried before.
"This time you stand a great chance of putting smoking behind you.”
Ailsa Rutter, director of Fresh and Balance, said: “Most people who smoke regret ever starting. It damages health and costs tens of thousands of pounds to smoke over a lifetime.
"Smoking has killed over 125,000 people in our region since the year 2000 alone.
“The good news is that thousands of people every year successfully manage to quit smoking and have a better life by putting smoking behind them.
"Just breaking down your quit attempt into 28 days might feel less daunting and once you’ve done that you can tell yourself you are well on the road to staying quit.”
Hartlepool Borough Council is also supporting Fresh’s Smoking Survivors campaign.
One Hartlepool family has already shared its experiences as part of the appeal.
Debbie, 59, and Sadie Thomas, 25, from Hartlepool, lost their husband and dad Denham to Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) in 2021 aged 69.
Denham’s family decided to speak out in a bid to help people quit smoking for their health, family and finances.
For help and support to quit, contact Hartlepool Support Hub on (01429) 272905 or email [email protected].