WILTSHIRE smokers are being urged to sign up to stop smoking for 28 days this October.
The national Stoptober campaign provides support to people wanting to stop, and in Wiltshire organisers are hoping to build on the current success which has seen almost 3,000 people quit for good over the last year.
From April 2012 to March 2013 more than 5,000 smokers signed up for help with the Wiltshire Stop Smoking Service with 2,902 people successfully giving up for good. Stoptober is being promoted nationwide and locally organisers hope hundreds more people will sign up to stop smoking for 28 days in October. The Public Health England campaign comes as new research shows someone who quits smoking for Stoptober and stays stopped, could gain an extra seven days of life, every 28 days, for the rest of their life.
Maggie Rae, corporate director at Wiltshire Council said, “Evidence suggests people who successfully stop smoking for four weeks are more likely to stop for good, and with help and support from the Wiltshire Stop Smoking Service they are four times more likely to succeed. It is the most effective way to quit smoking for good.”
Keith Humphries, cabinet member for public health said, “We are not complacent, because one in five people in Wiltshire still smoke. We still have a lot to do and will be calling on the continued efforts of all our partners and colleagues in 2013/14 to help maintain and exceed the achievements of the last few years.”
Stoptober provides smokers with a range of free support, including a new stop smoking pack, a 28-day mobile phone app and text support with daily updates and quitting advice, detailed tools and tips for coping, as well as the encouragement and support from thousands of people quitting together through Stoptober social media.
Visit www.wiltshirestop smoking.co.uk
