The Government recently announced a number of measures to ensure that the country achieves its ambition of becoming Smokefree by 2030, including the provision of a million ‘Swap to Stop’ kits as a way to support people to quit smoking.
The City of Wolverhampton Council is working to make these kits available at a range of community venues, including the city's 8 Family Hubs, the 3 WV Active leisure centres and Bilston, Warstones and Wednesfield libraries.
The service will be delivered by trained members of staff, who will offer free vape starter kits alongside support and weekly 'check-in' sessions delivered from the convenience of local community venues to help people on their quitting journey over a period of 12 weeks.
The new service was officially launched this week. To sign up for free, please visit Swap to Stop.
Councillor Jasbir Jaspal, the City of Wolverhampton Council's Cabinet Member for Adults and Wellbeing, said: “Stopping smoking is the best thing you can do for your health and the health of those around you.
"Smoking is still the single largest preventable cause of death in England, accounting for around for 64,000 deaths annually. Almost every minute of every day someone is admitted to hospital with a smoking related disease – but, when you stop smoking, there are almost immediate improvements to your health.
"And it's not just your body which will benefit, your purse or wallet will too. On average smokers spend £38.59 a week on tobacco – and that means you could have around £2,000 more to spend a year by quitting, and even more if you are a really heavy smoker.
"Nicotine vaping is substantially less harmful than smoking and is also one of the most effective tools for quitting, so we are delighted to deliver this Swap to Stop support in the community in Wolverhampton. If you want to quit, please sign up today."
For more help and support to stop smoking, please visit Quit Smoking.
Meanwhile, the council announced last week that a new healthy lifestyles service, Live Well Wolverhampton, is being launched, offering people information, advice, guidance, self help tools and lifestyle interventions to enable them to make and maintain positive lifestyle choices.
Initially, the service is being trialled on a small scale, providing support to help people quit smoking, while an adult weight management scheme is also expected to be launched in the near future. It will strengthen the existing support available in Wolverhampton and will be accessible to all those who live or are registered with a GP in the city. More information about Live Well Wolverhampton will be provided once the service is launched city wide.
