Incentives for smokers who successfully kick the habit

Walsall smokers can earn themselves a high street voucher to the value of £30 or a pampering session if they kick the habit with the help of NHS Walsall Community Health Stop Smoking Services. Residents can be” in it to win it” by dropping in to see a smoking advisor at either Darlaston Town Hall or Blakenall Village Centre on Saturday 6  December or Saturday 13 December between 10am and 4pm to sign up to quit and to get support to be a non smoker for good.

Sue Morgan, Acting Head of Health Promotion for NHS Walsall Community Health, said: ‘ Smoking is the UKs single greatest cause of preventable illness and death and in a Walsall around a quarter of the population still smoke. The smoking ban and campaigns have had a positive impact in Walsall over the last two years and almost 5000 people have quit with support from NHS Stop Smoking Services but it is clear that we need to do more to keep on encouraging people to have a go at stopping.

Following success of initiatives in other areas NHS Walsall is trying a new approach to support people to quit. A high profile campaign is planned; stop smoking staff will be running drop ins at local community centres each weekend to offer specialist support; teams from Walsall Youth Arts Team will be going into schools across the borough to deliver Face Facts arts sessions with children to recruit them to support mom or dad to quit and to stop them being the next generation of smokers; and businesses will be encouraged to help their staff to kick the habit.  A voucher or pamper session (to the value of £30) will be offered for a limited period to any Walsall resident who signs up to quit and who stays smoke free for at least a month. Success will be checked with the use of a CO2 monitor so people will have to prove that they have really done it!!

Evidence tells us that incentives coupled with good support is cost effective and we will be offering one to one specialist support to each person for at least three months to increase their likelihood of long term success. NHS Walsall also intends to rigorously evaluate the pilot to measure ling term effectiveness to inform future service delivery. Smoking costs the NHS over 1.5 billion pounds and over 7000 hospital admissions in Walsall were smoking related during 2006 – 2007. Evidence tells us that people are more likely to quit successfully with support from NHS Stop Smoking services and in Walsall we want to encourage more people to do just that.’

Residents will have a one to one session with a smoking advisor who will agree a quit plan and the motivational support needed to help achieve their goals. Nicotine Replacement Therapy will also be offered to help people with withdrawal symptoms.

For more information on how to quit smoking call 0800 169 9346.