20 January 2022
Ground-breaking QUIT programme helps Anne kick four-year smoking habit
A Medical Laboratory Assistant at Barnsley Hospital successfully gave up smoking thanks to support
from the QUIT programme.
Anne Larkin started smoking at 26 years old. After four years without cigarettes, she started smoking
again four years ago after a change in her personal life. She was smoking 15 cigarettes a day and
knew this was having an effect on her health.
Anne started her journey with the QUIT programme through the Healthy Lives Team at Barnsley
Hospital in July 2021. She signed up to the service at a Health and Wellbeing Event that her manager
Daniel Firth organised for his team.
Alongside support for patients, the QUIT programme includes a free staff stop smoking service. It is a
12-week course where staff are assessed for Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) using products
such as nicotine patches and inhalators. As well as NRT, the team offers behavioural support and
advice from Tobacco Treatment Advisors. At the arranged appointments, there is time to discuss
progress and access to any tips.
Anne has now successfully given up smoking through the QUIT programme. She said: “I quit
smoking, mainly for health reasons, but the money I spent on cigarettes was unbelievable and I didn't
realise just how much that was.
“The QUIT programme was very helpful, and my advisor Leigh-Ann took me step by step through it.
She listened and answered any questions and doubts I had.
“The patches helped, and I switched between an E-cigarette and recommended Nicotine Inhalator.
“The service helped me tremendously and I would recommend it to anyone wanting to quit smoking.
The help, advice and reassurance I received was fantastic - I don't think I could have done it alone.”
The QUIT Programme is being delivered by South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw Integrated Care System
(SYB ICS) in partnership with Yorkshire Cancer Research, five local authorities and local Stop
Smoking Services.
QUIT forms the first part of a broader Healthy Hospitals Programme across South Yorkshire and
Bassetlaw and is also a key strand of the local Tobacco Control Alliances’ plans. Every hospital site in
the region is working towards being completely smoke-free.
20 January 2022
Barnsley hair stylist gives up smoking with help from Tobacco Treatment Advisors
A 25-year-old hair stylist from Barnsley successfully quit smoking when she became pregnant using the help of Tobacco Treatment Advisors from the Smoking in Pregnancy team at Barnsley Hospital.
Morgan Hufton had been a smoker for seven years and was smoking 20 cigarettes a day when she found out she was eight weeks pregnant.
Morgan said: “I knew for the sake of my child’s health I had to stop.
“The most difficult times for me were after a meal and social events. I would always have a cigarette and didn’t ever think I could break myself out of that habit. Even though I could not drink alcohol due to being pregnant, it was the atmosphere you are in when socialising which fuelled the urge to smoke.”
Morgan was given products to help her quit and took on board the advice from the Smoking in Pregnancy programme at Barnsley Hospital’s maternity unit. She also tried vaping, which is much less harmful than smoking cigarettes and can make the transition to being nicotine-free easier.
“I just used the vape as and when I needed so I didn’t become dependent on it,” Morgan added.
“My midwife advised me to try to do something else to help take my mind off smoking, so I would try and do something in the house, or an activity with my oldest child for example. This helped me loads as I would soon forget I wanted a cigarette.
Since she stopped smoking, Morgan has saved over £200 a month and noticed a change in her mood and breathing. Her partner Josh, who has asthma, also quit with the same support and noticed breathing improvements on the fourth day of being smoke-free.
“Josh has tried several times in the past and never been able to see it through. He is asthmatic and has had many asthma attacks which resulted in overnight stays in hospital. The advisors said if he carried on, he would have Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) by the time he was 30.
“He now has more energy and a better mood but most importantly the smell of smoke isn’t on our clothes or around our children.”
Now smoke-free and with a third child on the way, Morgan is thankful to the staff who helped her and her partner to quit.
“I liked how well our advisor Debbie supported me. She kept in touch and went the extra mile for us. I cannot thank her enough for helping me and my family!”
As well as the Smoking in Pregnancy services, Barnsley Hospital is now able to offer support to other patients via the QUIT programme. QUIT is being delivered by South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw Integrated Care System (SYB ICS) in partnership with Yorkshire Cancer Research, five local authorities and local Stop Smoking Services.
The QUIT programme forms the first part of a broader Healthy Hospitals Programme across South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw and is also a key strand of the local Tobacco Control Alliances’ plans. Every hospital site in the region is working towards being completely smoke-free.
Tuesday 21 December
QUIT helps Rotherham patient stop smoking 40 cigarettes a day
QUIT has helped a man from Rotherham give up his tobacco habit of 40 cigarettes a day.
Ian*, aged 45, has now not smoked for more than 13 weeks thanks to the QUIT programme and has hailed the experience as, ‘life changing’ and ‘inspiring’.
Before working with the QUIT team at Swallownest Court, Ian, who lives with a mental health condition, smoked an average of three cigarettes an hour every day. He has now not smoked since August.
Working with the team led by Health improvement Manager Adam Fretwell, Ian has taken part in a series of sessions to talk through coping strategies and ways of beating his addiction.
Ian from Thrybergh in Rotherham said: “I have tried to quit smoking before but other than when I didn’t smoke for three years due to illness, I had always failed and started smoking again.
“I feel supported by Adam and the team at Swallownest Court and I feel like my mindset has already changed. My chest already feels better, and I feel like my health has already benefited from stopping.
“I’ve saved around £500 a month from not buying cigarettes and I’m thinking about where I can spend the extra cash! I would definitely recommend QUIT to other people who want to give up and make themselves healthier.”
The team at Swallownest Court are part of the Rotherham, Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust.
QUIT Health Improvement Manager, Adam Fretwell, said: “It is great to help so many patients like Ian on their journey to becoming smoke free. Since launching the programme earlier this year we’ve had both patients and staff start the programme and we’ve had excellent feedback so far.”
“It is fantastic to be a part of this ground-breaking programme and we look forward to helping more patients in their journey to stop smoking for good.”
*Ian has been renamed in order to remain anonymous
Wednesday 1 December
QUIT stop smoking programme appoints more than 200 NHS ‘champions’
More than 200 NHS staff have become ‘QUIT Champions’ as part of their role to help hospital patients and staff give up smoking.
Smoking is the largest preventable cause of cancer worldwide and evidence shows that smokers are more likely to stop smoking successfully with support.
The QUIT Programme, which has the potential to save up to 2,000 lives and 4,000 hospital readmissions a year, is transforming the way smoking is tackled by the NHS in the region, with hospital staff recognising it as a treatable addiction – not a lifestyle choice.
All patients who smoke attending any hospital in eight NHS Trusts in South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw are now being offered nicotine replacement medication and specialist support as part of their routine hospital care.
This support is being delivered by teams of Tobacco Treatment Advisers who have been funded by Yorkshire Cancer Research. They are now being supported by the 222 QUIT Champions to encourage hospital patients and staff to give up smoking.
The QUIT Champions support smokers to quit, highlighting the health benefits of stopping and encourage them to take advantage of the support offered by the innovative Programme. Patients are then referred for ongoing support with the Tobacco Treatment Advisors as part of routine care during their time in hospital.
Stephanie Willey, a QUIT champion, said: “I am very proud to volunteer for the QUIT programme. It has been so rewarding to see people who have smoked for many years taking advantage of the support on offer.
“Whether patients are in hospital for smoking-related reasons or not, it is a great time to think about giving up and the support doesn’t stop when they leave as we have excellent links with community stop smoking services across the region.”
QUIT is being delivered by South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw Integrated Care System (SYB ICS) in partnership with Yorkshire Cancer Research, five local authorities and local Stop Smoking Services.
Community-based stop smoking services will play a key role, ensuring nicotine replacement medication and support is continued after patients leave hospital to give them the best chance of beating their tobacco addiction.
On average, 16 per cent of people living in South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw smoke compared to the national average of 13.9 per cent. That’s nearly 200,000 people – and more than half of those will die prematurely from smoking-related illness, losing on average 10 years of life. It is estimated that 1,350 cancers diagnosed in South Yorkshire every year are caused by smoking.
QUIT Programme Director Dr Richard Jenkins said: “It is great to see that so many people are now championing the QUIT programme as its success depends on people working within hospital wards educating and encouraging patients and staff to take up the support on offer.
“This initial success is just the start, and we hope to appoint more QUIT champions and encourage many more smokers across South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw to give up over the coming months.”
Dr Kathryn Scott, Chief Executive at Yorkshire Cancer Research, said: “With the support of champions across the NHS in South Yorkshire, the QUIT Programme will reach huge numbers of people in the region with the help they need to stop smoking for good, reducing their risk of premature death from a wide range of smoking-related cancers and saving countless families from distress and heartbreak.”
Tuesday, 26 October 2021
Stop smoking this 'Stoptober'
With almost 200,000 of the South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw population addicted to tobacco, it’s a big problem in our region and Stoptober is a perfect opportunity to quit.
The Stoptober campaign is now in its tenth year and is calling on smokers in England to join the 2.3 million others who have made a quit attempt with the campaign since it launched a decade ago in 2012.
Due to the Covid pandemic, this year's Stoptober mass quit attempt is even more important, which is why the QUIT programme, in partnership with Yorkshire Cancer Research, is highlighting the opportunity to start your smoke-free journey this October.
Smoking damages the lungs and airways, making it harder to breathe. Each cigarette fills our lungs with toxins which harm the immune system and leave us more vulnerable to infections. These toxins also increase the risk of at least 15 different types of cancer, causing 1,240 new cases in South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw every year.
A new nationwide survey of 2,000 current smokers has found that nearly half have been smoking more since the first lockdown began. Key reasons reported are being bored in the lockdowns or the pandemic making them more anxious. What’s more, data from the monthly UCL Smoking Toolkit Study indicates a large increase in smoking among the under-35s since the coronavirus pandemic, up from 18% in 2019 to 24% now.
The good news is that the survey also found that more than half of smokers want to quit, and three quarters would never have started smoking if they could go back in time.
Stopping smoking also boosts mental health and wellbeing. For symptoms of anxiety and depression, stopping smoking is as effective as taking antidepressants. Just six weeks after quitting, people start feeling happier as well as healthier.
If you are a smoker, quitting is one of the best things you can do for your health, allowing you to start moving better, breathe more easily and save money.
It’s never too late to quit and there’s plenty of effective treatments and support to help you quit.
Statistics show that if a smoker can go 28 days without a cigarette, they are five times more likely to quit for good, so why not aim to go through October tobacco-free?
Join the thousands of others and start your quitting journey this October by visiting the NHS' Better Health 'quit smoking' pages where you can access free resources to help you quit.
The free to download NHS Quit Smoking app includes showing you how much money you're saving, and you can subscribe to get a daily email to boost your motivation.
Expert support from local stop smoking services gives people the best chance of success. Find contact details for our local stop smoking services at at www.sybics-quit.co.uk/what-quit-programme/stop-smoking-support.
Also check out the QUIT Programme that is being rolled out in all NHS Hospital Trusts across South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw, in partnership with Yorkshire Cancer Research, at www.sybics-quit.co.uk.
QUIT, smokefree campaigns and lung health news across South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw
A groundbreaking stop smoking programme, which has the potential to save up to 2,000 lives and 4,000 hospital readmissions a year, has been launched across South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw.
The QUIT Programme is being delivered by South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw Integrated Care System (SYB ICS) in partnership with Yorkshire Cancer Research, five local authorities and local Stop Smoking Services.
Based on evidence from successful smaller schemes in Ottawa and in Greater Manchester, QUIT is the largest project of its kind in the world and will transform the way smoking is tackled by the NHS in the region.
Rather than seeing smoking as a lifestyle choice, hospital staff across eight NHS Trusts in South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw now recognise it as tobacco addiction – a medical condition they have a responsibility to treat as part of patients’ routine hospital care.
So, every hospital patient in the region over the age of 12 years who smokes will now have access to nicotine replacement treatments (NRT) and specialist stop smoking support during their hospital stay from 45, trained Tobacco Treatment Advisers funded by Yorkshire Cancer Research.
Community-based stop smoking services will play a key role, ensuring medication and support is continued after patients leave hospital to give them the best chance of beating their tobacco addiction.
Watch Dr Kathryn Scott (Chief Executive of Yorkshire Cancer Research) and Dr Richard Jenkins (Senior Responsible Officer for QUIT) discuss the QUIT Programme launch across South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw
Dr Richard Jenkins, Chief Executive of Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Senior Responsible Officer for the QUIT Programme said: “We know that smoking is the single greatest cause of preventable death, disability and illness so the QUIT initiative makes perfect sense – especially when it is our job as health professionals to reduce harm to health.
“We spend over £26m a year on smoking-related hospital admissions in South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw. QUIT has the potential to save thousands of lives and hospital re-admissions here.
“By treating tobacco addiction, we will save lives, decrease inequalities in health and save the NHS money that can be reinvested in new services.”
Nearly 200,000 people smoke in South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw - more than half of those will die prematurely from smoking-related illness, losing on average 10 years of life.
It is hoped the systematic, region wide approach to actively treating tobacco addiction will help bring smoking rates down to below 10 per cent by 2024, saving thousands of lives.
Yorkshire Cancer Research have provided £1.8m in funding to support the QUIT Programme and Chief Executive Dr Kathryn Scott said: “It is estimated that 1,350 cancers diagnosed in South Yorkshire every year are caused by smoking. The QUIT Programme will help Yorkshire Cancer Research reach unprecedented numbers of people in the region with the support they need to stop smoking for good, reduce their risk of premature death from a wide range of smoking-related cancers and save countless families from distress and heartbreak.”
The first Yorkshire Cancer Research funded Tobacco Treatment Advisers are now in post at Barnsley Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust (RDaSH).
QUIT forms the first part of a broader Healthy Hospitals Programme across South Yorshire and Bassetlaw and is also a key strand of the local Tobacco Control Alliances’ plans.
The Programme will also offer advice and support to parents of child patients who smoke and all NHS staff who smoke will have access to NRT treatments and specialist support. Every hospital site in the region is working towards being completely smoke-free.
