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Bristol takes innovative approach to help parents quit smoking

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Bristol is trialing a new approach to help parents quit smoking and prevent young people from picking up the habit.

The council is supporting UK charity, QUIT, to roll out its Smoke Free Family Life campaign in Bristol after a pilot scheme enjoyed significant success.

The campaign involves working with schools, initially eight primary and two secondary schools, to give young people the facts about smoking to create discussions with their parents and carers who want to quit.

The QUIT team are going into schools to give presentations to children aged 7 – 14 years, as research has shown this is when children are most likely to think about taking up smoking in the future. Information booklets are also handed out, with separate editions and messaging for parents and pupils.

Councillor Daniella Radice, Assistant Mayor for Neighbourhoods with responsibility for Public Health, said: “Giving up smoking is extremely difficult but there’s a lot of support available for people who want to quit. I’m pleased that Bristol is working with QUIT to trial this new approach, which has proven to be a success in other places. It’s great we can work with other organisations to help people stop.”

The first presentation in a school will take place this week at Fair Furlong Primary School with others to follow shortly after.

Nick Faraday, Youth Services Manager for QUIT, said: “We’ve got high hopes for this holistic approach. During the trial 40% of young people who saw the presentations said they spoke to their parents or carers about smoking and of those 62% said they would attempt to quit as a result of the conversation.

“We’re taking a double-pronged approach to target both children and parents. The booklets we’ve designed explain the dangers of smoking in an age-appropriate way and we’ve found that as a result kids are less likely to start smoking, and parents are more likely to quit.”

QUIT will work with pupils and their parents and carers to evaluate the success of the campaign, with support from the council’s stop smoking team to track the number of people who successfully quit.

A robust methodology and evaluation is being carried out by Professor Robert West – a leading global expert in smoking cessation – and his team at University College London.

Bristol City Council’s stop smoking team is working across the city on a number of initiatives to help citizens stop smoking including recent campaigns to discourage people from smoking in cars and encouraging people not to smoke in certain public squares.

People looking to quit smoking can call Smokefree Bristol on 0117 922 22 55

For more information or interview requests please contact Amy Bullen, Public Relations Officer at Bristol City Council, amy.bullen@bristol.gov.uk or 0117 922 4316.

New CEO for QUIT

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Paul Bishop has been appointed the new CEO for QUIT, the UK charity that helps smokers to stop and children to never start.
Peter Brice, Chair of QUIT’s Trustees said, “We are delighted to welcome Paul to QUIT. He has the experience and skills needed to take the charity forward at this exciting time of growth.”
Paul joins QUIT from the Financial Ombudsman Service. Paul has nearly 20 years experience of leading publicly funded programmes including the Local Enterprise Growth Initiative, as a Government Advisor and a Director of Project Fullemploy.
Paul says, “I am looking forward to leading the charity forward and building on the excellent work produced over the years.”
Paul succeeds Glyn McIntosh who is leaving to join Bishopsland Educational Trust.

For more details please contact Paul Bishop on 0207 553 2109.
Or email him at: P.Bishop@quit.org.uk

New Year, New Me

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New Year’s Resolution: Giving up smoking Are you giving up smoking this New Year? Do you need that extra push to give up once and for all? Turning into the New Year symbolises a new start, evoking positivity, the perfect time to set our goals and make the changes to improve our lives once and for all. Quitting those bad habits are on the top of most of our lists. We all know that smoking is not good for us, or even those around us, yet 21% of men and 19% women smoke in the UK. There are over 4000 chemical compounds in tobacco smoke, including carbon-monoxide, arsenic and cyanide. Each year more than 100,000 smokers in the UK die from smoking related causes. You wouldn’t willingly drink cyanide so why would you inhale it? 60% of smokers say they find it difficult lasting a whole day without smoking. Nicotine is addictive, we cannot ignore that, but with a positive attitude, surrounded by a supportive network and accessing products that are proven to help you give up smoking, can lead to you successfully QUITTING. There are numerous products and services available that can effectively help with this. The Government from 2012-2013 alone spent £88.2 million on services to help people stop smoking and a further £60 million on stop smoking medication. Every smoker’s experience is different when it comes to quitting however without trying you won’t know what works for you. The answer is out there. What do you gain by giving up this year? Without a doubt you will see immediate improvements when you quit smoking. You will no longer feel out of breath walking a short distance, you won’t be coughing up phlegm and you will look healthier! Evidence also shows you will feel less anxious, depressed and stressed than smokers. Smoking is an expensive addiction too. Even if you smoke just FIVE cigarettes a day that accumulates to £274 a month and £548 a year! Now that’s something to think about. Get in touch if you’ve given up this 2015? Get in touch if you have given up smoking. Quit would love to hear from you as sharing really can help. It is most likely that what you are experiencing right now is perfectly normal; you are not alone. Sharing your story will not only help you give up once and for all but it can help save lives.

TimeBack 2104

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TimeBack Campaign October 2014 To encourage smokers to QUIT, when the clocks went back an hour in October, Saatchi’s kindly produced this innovative campaign.

UK Smokers Get An Hour Back In Their Day But Years Back In Their Life

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Campaign from QUIT capitalises on the end of daylight savings 23 OCTOBER 2014, LONDON – QUIT, the UK charity that helps smokers to stop, has launched a campaign that cleverly capitalises on the end of Daylight Savings by showing smokers how they could get years back in their life via the annual reminder to put clocks back an hour. It’s a well-known fact that smoking shortens the life of a smoker, literally taking years off. But by quitting you can get many of those years back – if not all of them.

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