Quit for good this Stoptober

Derby City Council is urging smokers to join its free healthy lifestyle service, Livewell to boost their chance of quitting successfully during Stoptober.

The national campaign is calling on smokers in England to join the 2.5million others who have made a quit attempt with the campaign previously.

Over 5 million adults in England still smoke and the East Midlands has the highest prevalence of 14% with Derby at 19.3%. Smoking causes 64,000 deaths a year, making it the biggest cause of preventable illness and death.

Quitting smoking is one of the best things you can do for your health. That’s why this year’s Stoptober campaign is encouraging smokers to join the thousands of others who are committing to quitting for the month of October – quit smoking for 28 days and you’re five times more likely to quit for good.  And people who get expert support from local stop smoking services like Livewell are up three times as likely to succeed.

When you stop smoking good things start to happen - quitting will allow you to start moving better, breathe more easily and give you more money to spend.

After 47 years of smoking, Vance Middleton quit nine months ago with Livewell’s support and is noticing the positive changes to his emphysema symptoms. He is urging other smokers in Derby to quit and said:

“I feel better both mentally and physically.  My lung capacity tests are heading in the right direction.  Since quitting I’ve not had any health problems requiring extra medication or needed to visit the doctor with breathing difficulties.”

Marten Bolog is celebrating four months smoke free. The 41-year-old moved to Derby from Slovakia 12 years ago and had tried to quit several times before. Recently diagnosed with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) he is relieved that quitting is easing his symptoms and is hoping he now qualifies for surgery on his feet.  He said:

Last year, 739 people in Derby quit smoking thanks to Livewell’s free support. As a result, each smoker saved an average of £59 a week, that’s £2.23m in total.

The official Stoptober challenge begins on Tuesday 1 October and people can choose to start their quit up until the end of October as part of the campaign.

However, smokers can quit any time with the help of Livewell, who offer 12 months of free support and stop smoking treatments to Derby residents. To sign up and book a phone appointment to get started, go to the Livewell website.