Smokers offered help to quit the habit on No Smoking Day
Elaine and Keith Nicholson quit smoking, thanks to Northumberland Stop Smoking Service, and used the money they saved to decorate their home.
RESIDENTS are being offered help to quit smoking and take steps towards a healthier and wealthier life.
No Smoking Day – Wednesday, March 13 – helps smokers give up the habit, highlighting the benefits apart from improved health.
Northumberland Stop Smoking Service, provided by Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, is encouraging smokers to use the experience of local quitters as their motivation to set their own quit date.
Elaine Nicholson, housewife and mother-of-four in Blyth, is now thousands of pounds better off after celebrating 18 months smokefree.
She put the money she would have spent on cigarettes over that time to good use by splashing out on redecorating her home.
She was initially reluctant to quit but decided to kick the habit after her husband Keith went to the stop smoking service at Blyth Community Hospital
Elaine said: “Before I quit, I was putting one cigarette out and then I was thinking about the next one, which ended up with me smoking 50 cigarettes a day.
“I knew I should quit because I’ve got a family history of heart disease, but I didn’t believe I could actually do it. Quitting is the best thing I’ve ever done.”
Alison Nichol, Northumberland Stop Smoking Service manager, said: “It’s never too late to stop smoking, and I would urge anyone who is thinking of quitting to pop along to the drop-ins and see what help is available.”
Northumberland Stop Smoking Service has more than 100 advisors based in GP practices and pharmacies, and there are more than 40 clinics per week in a range of venues.
Until the end of March, drop-in sessions are being held from 4.30pm to 7pm at Hirst Welfare, Ashington, on Wednesdays and at Briardale Community Centre, Blyth, on Thursdays.
For more information contact Northumberland Stop Smoking Service on 01670 813135 or www.northumbria.nhs.uk/stopsmoking or get online support from.smokefree.nhs.uk
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Saturday 25 May 2013
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