Smokers across Calderdale are being urged to kick the habit during Stoptober – Public Health England’s mass challenge to quit smoking for 28 days.
Smokers who manage to stop for 28 days are five times more likely to stop for good. There are lots of ways to quit and Stoptober has plenty of free support to help people find what works for them.
Calderdale Council is working with Yorkshire Smokefree Calderdale, the local stop smoking service, to support the campaign and provide face-to-face and group support which further increases the chances of quitting successfully.
Throughout October, Calderdale Council and Yorkshire Smokefree Calderdale are hosting a number of ‘Know your CO’ events offering free carbon monoxide readings.
Carbon Monoxide enters the body during smoking so smokers have high carbon monoxide readings in the blood compared to non-smokers. This reduces the blood’s oxygen carrying ability. The good news is that when a smoker quits, nicotine and carbon monoxide levels in blood reduce by more than half and oxygen levels return to normal after just 8 hours.
Anyone is welcome to drop-in at any of the following events to find out their reading.
- Brighouse Customer First – Every Monday morning in October, 10am – 12noon
- Todmorden Health Centre – Tuesday 2, 9 and 23 October , 10am – 12noonQueens Road Neighbourhood Centre – Monday 8 October and Thursday 11 October, 2 – 5pm.Halifax Opportunities Trust – Monday 15 October, 1.30pm – 4pm.
- Halifax Customer First – Tuesday 16 and Tuesday 30 October, 9am – 1pm.
Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Public Health and Inequalities, Cllr Faisal Shoukat, said:
“If you’re a smoker, stopping is the best thing you can do for your health and your family’s health.
“We know giving up smoking isn’t easy, but why not join the thousands of other smokers kicking the habit this Stoptober? There’s lots of support available through the campaign and by contacting Yorkshire Smokefree Calderdale. So start your journey to a smoke free life.”
Yorkshire Smokefree Calderdale can help people to quit their own way. One Calderdale resident who used the service to stop smoking is Jason Todd, who recently celebrated a year of being smoke free. He said of his journey:
“My quit journey started after my son Joseph took part in a local campaign video for Breathe 2025 with his local rugby team, Illingworth ARLFC, back in August 2017. After this, I decided to give stopping smoking another go, but this time using my local stop smoking service.
“I had also become aware of some difficulty with my breathing, so one of the main reasons for quitting was my health – particularly my shortness of breath.
“I chose group support as this was the most convenient session for me at the time and found the support very helpful. Nobody wants to say they have failed, and with the support from the group I was able to discuss what feelings and temptations I was having at the time.
“The longer I stayed stopped the more my breathing improved which was very encouraging. I also recently took part in a walk with my son and other members of the Illingworth rugby team. We walked around 5 miles at Bolton Abbey to raise awareness of the Breathe 2025 vision to inspire a smokefree generation.”
Make your pledge to stop at http://breathe2025.org.uk/(external link)
To find out more about Stoptober and create a personal quit plan, visit https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/stoptober(external link). For online support, face-to-face help or support over the phone, visit www.yorkshiresmokefree.nhs.uk(external link) for more information.
ENDS