Quit smoking and spare your loved ones the pain
North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust is backing a campaign encouraging smokers to quit and be around longer for their family.
The Don’t be the 1 campaign from Fresh reminds North East smokers that they have a one in two chance of dying from a tobacco related disease if they keep smoking. But quitting brings benefits at any age.
A survey of 
people who smoke found most underestimate their risks of dying of a smoking related illness, although six out of 10 say their family worries about them smoking.
Smokers can click on dontbethe1.tv to find details of local NHS support to quit, or to sign up for the free Smokefree app or Quit Kit.
A smoker’s risk of dying from a tobacco related disease is infinitely more than the chances of being hit by a bus (around 2 in a million) or winning the National Lottery jackpot with six numbers (around 1 in 14 million).
Stop smoking service manager Pat Marshall said: “ Our stop smoking services in Tees provide confidential one-to-one, support and treatment to help smokers in Stockton, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Hartlepool who want to quit.
“We know that quitting smoking isn’t always easy, but people who receive support from their local stop smoking service find it easier to stop and are four times more likely to stay smokefree.
“Our services offer support to all smokers who are trying to quit, including smokers who choose to use nicotine delivery devices not supplied by the NHS.
“I hope this campaign encourages more people to quit smoking.”
Lisa Surtees, acting director of Fresh, said: “Quitting might not always be easy – but dying from a smoking related disease is much, much harder. Quitting lowers your risk of dying early at any age, but the sooner you quit, the better.”
Smoking is the biggest preventable cause of death in the North East:
- causing 16 types of cancer, heart disease, stroke and COPD, and increasing the risks of diabetes, dementia and blindness
- reducing life expectancy by 10 years on average and increasing the chances of life-limiting incapacity in older age
- killing 15 people a day in the North East resulting in 109,700 hospital appointments and outpatient visits, and 527,000 GP appointments every year, costing the NHS in the region £93m a year
To find out how you can get help stopping smoking visit www.nth.nhs.uk/services/stop-smoking-service/ , call 01642 383819.