With the coronavirus emergency putting unprecedented strain on the NHS and England’s Chief Medical Officer urging smokers to give up smoking to lower their risk, there’s never been a better time to quit.
The #QuitforCovid campaign encourages people to join the conversation, share their own story of quitting and hear from other people how they are getting on with their quit attempts. There is also a Twitter Quit Clinic from 7.30pm to 8.30pm every day – join in at Twitter using the hashtag #QuitforCovid.
Councillor Jasbir Jaspal, the City of Wolverhampton Council’s Cabinet Member for Public Health and Wellbeing, said: “The best thing a smoker can do is to quit, to protect themselves and others and to reduce the impact on NHS services.
“Smoking damages your lungs and weakens your immune system. This makes it more likely that you will have complications if you get sick and that it will take you longer to recover.
“Smokers are also much more likely to get other health problems at a time when the NHS is under strain from coronavirus.
“Why not decide that Today is the Day? There’s lots of helpful resources and support available to aid your quit attempt. If you’re not ready to quit just yet, you can also find out more information on protecting others from second hand smoke.”
For more information about quitting, including support from the NHS and stop smoking aids, please visit Wolverhampton Information Network.
The latest information and guidance around coronavirus is available at GOV.UK and on the council’s own coronavirus pages at Coronavirus advice and information. There’s lots of advice on how people can protect themselves and their families from coronavirus from the NHS at Advice for everyone - Coronavirus (COVID-19).
The council’s Stay Safe, Be Kind campaign offers clear and simple advice about how people can help themselves, and how they can support others who may be particularly vulnerable at this time. For more information, please visit Stay Safe Be Kind.
