Derby City Council is urging Derby smokers to join its free healthy lifestyle service, Livewell to boost their chances of quitting successfully during Stoptober.

Stoptober is back to launch its 10th mass quit attempt on 1 October, calling on smokers in England to join the 2.3 million others who have made a quit attempt with the campaign since it launched a decade ago in 2012.

The 28-day stop smoking challenge takes place during October and is based on research that shows if you can stop smoking for 28-days, you are five times more likely to stay smoke-free for good. And people who get expert support from local stop smoking services like Livewell are up three times as likely to succeed.

Over 6 million adults in England still smoke, and it remains the leading cause of premature death, with almost 75,000 preventable deaths a year. A new nationwide survey of 2,000 current smokers released today has found that nearly half (45%) have been smoking more since the first lockdown began.

If you are a smoker, quitting is one of the best things you can do for your health, allowing you to start moving better, breathe more easily and save money. Join the thousands of others and start your quitting journey this October.

Cllr Roy Webb, Cabinet Member for Adults, Health and Housing said:

“Stopping smoking really does make life better in every sense and Stoptober provides the perfect opportunity to quit. As a former smoker, I recognise the importance of getting the right support and treatments and the friendly Livewell team is ready to help. I just wish Livewell had been around when I was quitting, it would have made it much easier.”

Dr Gillian Lowrey, Respiratory Physician at the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton said:

“We all know tobacco is bad for your health: smoking damages every organ in the body, and after the age of 35 smokers lose a day of life for every 4 days of smoking. Stopping smoking is the single most important thing you can do for physical and mental health. The benefits from stopping are almost immediate – your pulse rate returns to normal within 20 minutes, your blood oxygen levels improve within 8 hours and within 48 hours your sense of smell and taste recover. And you don’t need to be quit very long before your body recovers and repairs itself so you are less likely to suffer from pneumonia and heart disease.”

Andy Varney (55) smoked for 41 years and quit with Livewell’s support three years ago. He transformed his sedentary lifestyle by getting more active and losing weight and is now in training for his second marathon. He is so passionate about supporting others to improve their health, that he retrained to become a stop smoking advisor for Livewell:

“Stopping smoking was the best thing I ever did – it gave me more energy to exercise, saved me money and helped me become healthier. Stoptober provides the ideal opportunity to give quitting a go and I’m looking forward to supporting smokers through the challenge in my new role with Livewell.”

The official Stoptober challenge begins on Friday 1 October; people can choose to start their quit up until the end of October as part of the campaign. However, smokers can quit any time with the help of Livewell, who offer 12 months of free support and stop smoking treatments to anyone registered to a Derby GP practice. To sign up and book a phone appointment, go to the Livewell website.