Get on board and quit smoking! (From Asian Image)

Get on board and quit smoking!

1:00pm Thursday 11th March 2010 in

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NHS East Lancashire’s stop smoking advisers rolled into Burnley town centre – on a specially built ‘No Smoking Day’ bus - to offer hands-on advice to smokers.

The ‘No Smoking Day’ bus caught the eye of passing shoppers, who climbed aboard to receive free, confidential, one-to-one advice on how to quit smoking.

The smoking advisers also carried out lung-health checks, which led to some shocking home-truths for some smokers.

Irene Houghton, a medical officer, was on hand to carry out the lung-health checks. She commented: “Providing this free, quick check has been proven to really motivate people to quit smoking, because it’s the clearest way of seeing the damage that smoking causes.”

Dozens of smokers signed up to NHS East Lancashire’s Stop Smoking Service after visiting the ‘No Smoking Day’ bus.

The No Smoking Day Bus was one of many initiatives NHS East Lancashire has been involved with to support people to kick the habit when they want, where they want, in their own way. Last year, NHS East Lancashire launched its mobile stop smoking service, where staff pitched up in busy town centres to offer advice to smokers.

The mobile service has been a huge success, as over 100 people have been able to receive support and information from the stop smoking advisers.

Janet Walton, head of tobacco control at NHS East Lancashire, said: “We are constantly looking at ways of making it even easier for people in East Lancashire to quit smoking.

"We now have more one-to-one appointments with specialist advisers who can offer expert advice and a tailor made quitting plan just for you. We also boast group support in areas for those who would like to share their experience with others.

"All our support services take place at a wide range of local venues at different days and times, so smokers can fit in sessions around their work and home life.

It is now easier than ever to quit smoking, and you are four times more likely to quit with NHS East Lancashire’s Stop Smoking Service. No Smoking Day was also the platform for NHS East Lancashire to launch its SMYLing campaign. The campaign stars resident quitters, including Mohammed Ameen, now works for the Stop Smoking Service.

Supporting people to quit smoking is one of the key priorities of NHS East Lancashire’s SMYL (Save a Million Years of Life) campaign. Find out more about quitting at www.smokefree.nhs.uk or call NHS East Lancashire Stop Smoking Service on 01254 380424.