Time to quit smoking - and there's help out there

by Gillian McDade

People in the area are encouraged to quit smoking.

That’s the message on National No Smoking Day which takes place today (Wed).

Around 18 to 20 per cent of people in Northern Ireland smoke.

Mid Ulster District Council in partnership with the Public Health Agency is encouraging smokers quit to ‘Be Proud to be a Quitter’.

And help is available in Mid-Ulster at pharmacies through their smoking cessation scheme.

Here's Catherine McGilligan from McGlaughlin’s Pharmacy in Magherafelt:

Today is a perfect opportunity for smokers to get motivated, particularly if their new years’ resolutions have been broken or are in need of renewing.

This year’s theme is ‘Be Proud to be a Quitter.’

The Chair of Mid Ulster District Council, Councillor Trevor Wilson, hopes the day will inspire people to stop smoking for good.

He said: “No Smoking Day provides an excellent opportunity for them to do just that. By using the support available on No Smoking Day and throughout the year you can significantly increase your chance of success.”

Giving up smoking is the biggest single thing you can do to improve your health and it can, literally, add years onto your life.

Smoking can also lead to foul smelling hair, stained teeth and tooth loss, premature aging of the skin, impotence, reduced sperm count and other fertility problems.

The rewards being offered to anyone wishing to quit smoking on No Smoking Day include their blood pressure and pulse returning to normal after 20 minutes of stopping to smoke, carbon monoxide will be eliminated after 24 hours.

Siobhan O’Brien, Health and Social Wellbeing Senior Officer at the PHA says help is at hand.

“For information on free stop smoking services available in your area and for useful tips to stop smoking, visit the PHA’s ‘Want 2 Stop’ website at www.want2stop.info where you can also order a ‘Quit Kit’ free of charge which will help you plan your quit attempt,” she adds.

 Also any workplaces interested in providing a stop smoking service to their employees, funded by the Public Health Agency, should contact Environmental Health on 03000 132 132 or e-mail stopsmoking@midulstercouncil.org to discuss with their local Smoking Cessation Specialist.