NHS sets target to help Wiltshire smokers quit (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

NHS sets target to help Wiltshire smokers quit

8:58am Wednesday 30th December 2009

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The NHS in Wiltshire is urging people to quit smoking as part of their New Year’s resolution.

More than 11,500 people in the South West, including 895 in Wiltshire, stopped smoking between January and March 2009, new figures reveal.

The proportion of adults who smoke in the South West is 21 per cent, the national average.

But the region’s Primary Care Trusts want to reduce this figure to 18 per cent by 2015 and ten per cent by 2030.

To help smokers quit, the NHS has produced a free Quit Kit, designed with the help of smokers. It includes a free mp3 download of techniques to help manage cravings and a voucher for discounted nicotine replacement therapy.

The NHS Stop Smoking Service also gives free support and individual advice to smokers at pharmacies, GP surgeries, workplaces, village halls and other locations.

Corsham mother of two Kirsty Skinner is celebrating a smoke free New Year after she quit smoking in February 2009.

Ms Skinner, 32, of Rudloe, was inspired to give up for the health of her daughters Lucy, eight, and Charley, 16 months.

Ms Skinner began smoking at the age of 11 while at Corsham Secondary School.

She said: “I used to smoke about ten cigarettes a day. Because I saw my parents smoke I just thought it was the normal thing to do.

“I had made several attempts to quit in the past. I quit when I was pregnant with Lucy and Charley but soon took it up again after they were born.”

Ms Skinner, a former preschool assistant, managed to quit for eight months when she was treated for a rare form of skin cancer when Lucy was aged one but returned to the habit.

But she decided after Charley was born that she had to give up for good.

She attended weekly sessions with her local NHS Stop Smoking adviser, Mary, at Corsham Family Health Centre.

She said: “I was so ready and so determined to give up. Mary was absolutely brilliant and so supportive.

“I was prescribed with nicotine replacement therapies in the form of inhalators and patches and I have not touched a cigarette since February.

“I feel and look so much better since quitting. I have more money and, although it sounds silly, my hair stays cleaner for so much longer now.

“But most importantly I’ve managed to quit for the benefit of my children.”

The Quit Kit can be ordered by visiting www.nhs.uk/smokefree or by calling 0800 0665 826.

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