Never give up on giving up!

Smokers in Blackburn with Darwen are being urged to give quitting another go ahead of this year’s No Smoking Day on March 8.

The message this year is “Never give up on giving up. Every time you try to stop smoking, you’re a step closer to success”.

This year’s No Smoking Day aims to raise awareness about the damage smoking does to brain health and how quitting smoking helps to protects your brain. Tobacco smoke contains chemicals that are associated with reduced brain function, as well as chemicals that harm the vascular system that provides blood to the brain.

To promote No Smoking Day there will be a range of activities and information available in The Mall in Blackburn on Wednesday, March 8.

This includes the Quit Talk Pop Up through Active Lancashire, where you can talk to the Re:fresh team, HealthWatch, Pete from Pendle PlantCraft and BNL Nutrition, for specialist advice and guidance on stopping smoking and the benefits it brings.

Smoking in Blackburn with Darwen has continued to reduce since 2011, falling from 27.1% to 15.5%, with over 50% of people who sign up to the Stop Smoking Service achieving a successful quit after 4 weeks.

Councillor Damian Talbot, Executive Member for Public Health, Prevention and Wellbeing, said:

There is no doubt that giving up smoking is hard, and a lot of people find that it does take a few attempts to finally quit for good. No Smoking Day is a great way to have another go and make the changes to improve your physical, brain and mental health and wellbeing.

Getting support really boosts your chances of quitting, so please head down to The Mall on the day if you can and speak to the specialists, or take a look at the support on offer in BwD to get you on the right track.”

If you’re thinking about stopping, or reducing smoking, in BwD you can access the Stop Smoking Service by visiting one of the participating pharmacies and speaking to a specialist advisor about Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT).

You can also access personalised support, motivation and encouragement from Wellbeing Service Health Trainers by calling (01254) 682037, email: wellbeing@blackburn.gov.uk or visit our website for a list of pharmacies providing the Stop Smoking Service https://refreshbwd.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Stop-Smoking-Service-posters-February-2023.pdf