No Smoking Day 2023: Ex-smokers in Wakefield encourage people to quit as 15 per cent of residents still light up regularly

Wakefield is in the top five locations in Yorkshire and the Humber for the highest success rates for kicking the habit after four weeks.

Many of them stopped after receiving support from NHS Yorkshire Smokefree Wakefield, a service funded by Wakefield Council, which provides expert NHS advice and treatment.

Two of the people helped by the local service are Eric and Marie.

Pensioner Eric’s great passion is his greenhouse and garden, and growing fruit and vegetables.

He said keeping occupied has helped him quit. It keeps his brain and his hands busy and his mind off wanting a cigarette.

He said: “When you are younger, fit, and healthy you do not think of health problems. I started smoking aged seven, on my paper round. With help from the Smokefree service I stopped smoking in my 80th year and I am nearly 81 now."

Marie tried new products and said this change has been key to stopping. She says she could not have done it without the aid of nicotine replacement therapy or the help she received from NHS Yorkshire Smokefree Wakefield, who have done all they can to support her to achieve her goal.

She said: “It is great to hear other people’s experience which can encourage your own quit attempt.

“So many times, my goal to be smoke-free has seemed unreachable, but this time it is here, and it`s a great feeling knowing this year I will be smoke-free on ‘No Smoking Day.’

Smoking rates in the Wakefield district have fallen in recent years, mirroring the trend seen nationally and regionally.

But the stats in Wakefield, 15.6 per cent, is much higher than compared to the national average of 13 per cent, costing the Mid Yorkshire NHS Trust an estimated £17.3m.

Coun Maureen Cummings, cabinet member for Communities, Poverty and Health, said: “It is a bleak picture in the district, with higher-than-average smoking rates, but we want to use today as an opportunity to be optimistic and share people’s journeys from smoking to quitting.

“You are three times more likely to stop with support, and our friendly and flexible Smokefree service has helped thousands of people across the district.

“They offer support tailored to your needs which includes telephone, online and face to face help. So why not join others in the district and make today the day to quit.”

This year’s national No Smoking Day is focusing on the harm smoking does to the brain. People who smoke are more likely to get dementia, but that risk is reduced once they stop.

Only 14 per cent of people who smoke in Yorkshire and Humber know that smoking increases the risk of dementia, compared to 80 per cent who know that smoking causes lung diseases or cancers.

For more information on quitting smoking, visit Smokefree Wakefield or call one of their free numbers, from a landline, 0800 612 0011 and from most mobiles, 0330 660 1166.

To get free access to the latest quitting aids, apps, and information go to www.nhs.uk/better-health/quit-smoking/