‘Quit for Covid’ call to Blackburn with Darwen’s smokers

Blackburn with Darwen Council is backing a call for people to ‘Quit for COVID’

The call from Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) is urging local smokers to give up the habit during lockdown.

A new YouGov survey has revealed nearly 1 in 10 (8 per cent) of England’s smokers have tried to quit because of coronavirus.

In Blackburn with Darwen, 80 people accessed local stop smoking services with a view to quitting during March and April.

During the same period another 50 people successfully stopped smoking for four weeks.

And with the pandemic making lots of people more concerned about staying healthy, now could be the perfect time to quit

The benefits of stopping smoking, as well as healthier lungs, include a reduction in tension and anxiety and a cut to costs at a time of financial uncertainty.

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

Smoking is harmful for our immune system and our ability to fight off infections and smokers with coronavirus do seem to be at a greater risk of severe symptoms and complications.

So now is the perfect time to ‘quit for covid’. There is help and support available locally through pharmacies that will give people a good chance of breaking away from their addictions and starting to feel the health and financial benefits of becoming smokefree.

For more information about stop smoking services in Blackburn with Darwen visit the refresh website.

A list of participating pharmacies can be found here.