Autumn is in the air

In my travels around the health centres, doctor’s surgeries and leisure centres across West Leeds last week, I noticed there is a definite autumnal feel in the air, with lots of brown crisp leaves getting blown into the health centre corridors.

I keep telling my clients that it’s a great time to stop smoking because the weather is on the turn and it is getting chillier so who wants to be stood outside smoking and shivering when they could be inside all cosy and warm. If that's not enough of an incentive, the money they could save could help them pay for Christmas. A 20 a day smoker could save over £500 over the weeks between now and Christmas. 

As well as quitting smoking to help improve lifestyle, our Healthy Lifestyle Service is on hand to support with other areas ( The Healthy Living Service is a city-wide service, you can find out more here ). At the start of October, we, the Stop Smoking Service, opened our first joint clinic with the Health Lifestyle Service. For the first time, people can come along to Armley Moor Health Centre on a Wednesday and get help with stopping smoking, advice on healthy lifestyle changes like diet, exercise and reducing alcohol consumption in one location. People can see our Stop Smoking Advisors, Emily and Emma, or our Healthy Lifestyle Practitioner, Tash. This is a truly is a holistic approach and one stop shop to a healthier lifestyle for the West Leeds community. New people are invited to come along at 6:50 pm and returning clients sessions run between 5:30pm and 6:45pm.

If you want to find out more about where the nearest clinic is for you, please get in touch, call 0113 843 4537.

Maree Diamond

Stop Smoking Advisor

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