Stopping smoking is one of the best things people can do to improve their health

Nearly 200,000 people smoke in South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw. More than half of those people will die prematurely from smoking-related illness, losing on average 10 years of life.

The QUIT Programme recognises that smoking is an addiction, that often starts in childhood – not a lifestyle choice. Tobacco addiction is a preventable illness and we have very effective treatments for it.

Developed in partnership with Yorkshire Cancer Research, QUIT will make sure that treatment for tobacco addiction is built into the routine care offered to every patient who smokes attending any hospital in South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw.

Patients will be offered free nicotine replacement therapies (NRT) and have access to specialist support while in hospital, which will continue through community-based stop smoking services when they are discharged.

NRT treatment and specialist support will also be offered to mental health trust inpatients and to the parents of child patients.

QUIT is the first part of a wider Healthy Hospital Programme being implemented in eight NHS Trusts across South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw in 2021. Staff who smoke will have access to the same specialist treatment and support to stop, and all hospitals will become completely smoke-free.

QUIT will save lives across the region, reduce health inequalities and decrease demand on our NHS.
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