Peterborough residents encouraged to make 2025 the year they stop smoking

You’re five times more likely to quit smoking with support. That is why Peterborough City Council, in partnership with Healthy You, is launching a stop-smoking campaign to raise awareness of the support available to help residents.

Running from late December and through January, the campaign aims to encourage Peterborough residents to make 2025 the year they quit smoking for good.

Smoking significantly increases the risk of lung cancer, heart disease and dementia, as well as costing smokers £2,400 per year on average. However, it is never too late to quit smoking – just two weeks after quitting, your lung function and circulation begin to improve and your savings will soon add up.

Healthy You provides a free 12-week programme tailored to your needs. Last year alone, Healthy You supported over 380 people in Peterborough to successfully quit smoking.

Help for you

Healthy You offers a free 12-week programme tailored to your needs, including:

· 1:1 weekly support from experienced advisors (face to face or over the phone)

· Access to tools such as nicotine patches, vapes and medication

· Flexible appointments in person or over the phone at a range of locations across Peterborough

You can speak to your GP or to self-refer. Call 0333 005 0093 or visit https://healthyyou.org.uk/services/stop-smoking/

Alternatively, come visit one of the drop-in sessions where you can get free advice, hear more about the service and how to sign up:

· 10am-4pm, Friday 27 December - Queensgate Centre (lower mall near Schuh)

· 10am-4pm, Monday 6 January - Serpentine Green (near Holland and Barrett)

· 10am-4pm, Tuesday 14 January – Queensgate Centre (lower mall near Schuh)

Councillor Dr Shabina Qayyum, cabinet member for adults and health at Peterborough City Council, said: “If you smoke, quitting smoking is the single most valuable thing you can do for your health, and it can save you money too. We know that quitting smoking is hard and that’s why we want as many residents as possible to be able to access support from Healthy You to help them successfully quit for good in 2025.”

What Healthy You clients say

A Healthy You client, who started smoking at the age of 15 and is now over 60 and used the service to quit said: “The support has been very good, we struck a good balance between telephone calls and seeing my practitioner face-to-face. Having the support was so beneficial and we could discuss any upcoming situations that may be a challenge.”

I’ve learnt to stop smoking after nearly 25 years and I’m extremely grateful. The advice was helpful and there are lots of choices, from vape, lozenges, chewing gum and patches. You can choose two things to try. You are supported all the way with follow-up phone calls and texts, and you go every week to see how you are coping.

Service user

A third client said: “I have been wanting to stop for a long time but never knew where to start. When diagnosed with MS, I knew I needed to stop for good – not only for myself but for my children. It has made a massive difference to my life and my children’s. My circulation has improved, my chest no longer feels heavy, my children are happier as they hated me smoking, plus the amount of money I saved!

“Go for it! As a long-term smoker, I never thought I would be able to successfully quit as I never had the right support. I was very sceptical at the start but with the amazing support I received, it was so much easier than I thought.”

Sign up or find out more

Visit the website to sign up or find out more about the free service.