Stoptober starts in September

Maree at the Leeds Market drop in clinic

I’m Maree and I am a Smoking Cessation Practitioner with Leeds Stop Smoking Service. I joined the team in February. Our service is city wide and we provide 1 to 1 sessions, drop ins and groups. Most of my clinics are in West Leeds, namely Armley, Bramley, Pudsey and Wortley but I also do a drop in clinic in Kirkgate Market (Leeds city centre market) on a Friday morning. More details about the drop in here.

We provide help and support to those who want to stop smoking and we can help our clients to access the treatments they need to help them stop. Research has shown that using NRT (nicotine replacement therapy) or one of the pharmacological aids (champix or zyban) plus the help of the NHS, people are four times more likely to stop smoking than if they were to go alone.

The team supports the national stop smoking month long campaign, known as Stoptober. The campaign begins on the 1st October and runs for the whole month. Even though it’s only September, we’re already getting prepared. The team will be on the Jubilee Wing at Leeds General Infirmary between 1pm and 4pm on Monday 15 September and the Gledhow Wing at St James Hospital between 9.30am and 2.30pm on Friday 19 September. You might think we’re got our months confused but we want to get people interested and motivated in advance so that they are up and running for the start of Stoptober. We'll be there to give advice but people can also begin the course there and then and access the treatment. 
  
As well as these events, we’ll be putting up displays across our clinic sites. The very helpful lady on the community reception at Thornton Medical Practice, has kindly said she would like to arrange a display on one of her notice boards, solely to promote stop smoking and Stoptopber. So I am really excited about that and I am going to rustle up some resources for her to get her notice board all swanky. When she has done it, we’ll post some photo’s on the trust’s facebook page.  

Maree Diamond, Stop Smoking Practitioner