During this year’s traditional Stoptober campaign, officials at the Sheffield City Council aim to lead by example by helping some 250 members of the local government’s staff quit smoking. By embracing the spirit of Stoptober, authorities want to demonstrate that anything – no matter how tough it might look – is possible, provided the adequate conditions and surroundings.
Battling a deadly habit
Sheffield has been a pioneer in helping its citizens quit smoking. Since 2011, smoking rates across the city have been steadily declining thanks to the local government’s varied programmes and initiatives that combine individual support, promotional campaigns and a wide range of restrictions and bans.
In the spirit of leading by example, Sheffield City Council made all its premises smoke-free areas. Now, authorities want to take this one step further by helping 250 members of its staff quit smoking for good.
The programme kickstarted by the government will give participants free access to the Smoke Free app (which usually costs £60) and will include a 4-week structured quitting plan, as well as one-to-one virtual support from a stop smoking advisor.
This year’s Stoptober is especially important, given the circumstances that we find ourselves in and given the special attention that we all pay to our health. With that in mind, Sheffield City Council’s actions of providing much-needed support to those who need help to quit are even more important.
“Sheffield City Council is committed to leading by example in order to achieve our ambition for a smokefree generation by 2025. Two years on from going smokefree across all our sites we have made great progress in reducing smoking on site, with a 30% reduction in smoking observed across our sites. We hope that this latest initiative will give more staff the support they need to quit.,” stated Greg Fell, Director of Public Health in Sheffield.
Source: TheMayor.EU
