1 October 2019

The following message is from Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs)

Smokers in Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin are being encouraged to join in with the nation’s biggest quit attempt and ‘split up’ with smoking from 1 October.

So far Stoptober has supported more than 1.9 million people on their quit journey. This year the campaign will target all smokers highlighting the benefits of “breaking up” and urging them to re-evaluate their bad relationship with smoking and “split up”.

Dr Julian Povey, Local GP and Chair for Shropshire Clinical Commissioning Group, said: “We really want to encourage anyone who is thinking of quitting to take part in Stoptober this year. Statistically smokers who make it to 28 days smokefree are five times more likely to quit for good. There are so many benefits to stopping, not only to your health and the health of those around you, but also to your finances.

“Although Shropshire Council has recently stopped funding of the local stop smoking service for non-pregnant patients due to their public health funding restrictions there are other ways of getting support to give up smoking – you can use the Stoptober app, a Personal Quit Plan and you could also make use of the Stoptober online communities.”

Dr Jo Leahy, Local GP and Chair for Telford and Wrekin CCG, said: “Research shows that six out of ten smokers say they want to quit and that one of the keys factors in helping them to do so is support. Stoptober is a great time for anyone who is thinking of quitting smoking to turn it into a reality. There is more support than ever to help smokers stay focussed and motivated to stop for good. We also want to encourage friends, family and colleagues to make that extra effort to support a smoker to quit.”

There are a range of free quitting support tools available including the Stoptober app, Facebook messenger bot, daily emails, a Personal Quit Plan and Stoptober online communities.

GPs and pharmacists can also give advice and tips to help smokers quit, including what prescription medicines might be right for them.

To find out more about Stoptober and what help and support is available visit the Stoptober website.

 For more information about the benefits of stopping smoking visit the NHS Choices website.