It is never too late to quit and when you stop smoking there are almost immediate improvements to your health. It reduces your risk of illness, disability or death caused by cancer, heart or lung disease. It also helps protect the health of the people around you by reducing their exposure to second-hand smoke. Quitting could save you around £2,000 a year too.
If you are pregnant, stopping smoking is even more important. The risks of smoking during pregnancy are serious, from premature delivery to increased risk of miscarriage, stillbirth and sudden infant death.
Expert support from our Living Well Smokefree team
It is much easier to stop smoking when you get the right support.
Our Living Well Smokefree team can help you take the steps you need to quit and offer a personalised service for six to 12 weeks including:
- access to a dedicated, local stop smoking advisor
- a supply of Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) - other stop smoking quit aids are available subject to availability
- weekly one-to-one sessions either in person at one of our clinics (by appointment), remotely or a combination of the two
We know that people who use this combination of support are three times more likely to quit for good.
Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) products are free to people who do not pay prescription charges. For those who do it will cost a prescription charge per product, which is cheaper than the cost of smoking cigarettes. Buying a three-month prescription prepayment certificate (PPC) is cost-effective as it covers all your prescriptions within this period no matter how many you need. This certificate costs £31.25.
To get a prescription prepayment certificate please visit the government website.
The team will see anyone from the age of 12. If you are pregnant and would like to quit, you can access the service yourself or ask your midwife to refer you.
Our stop smoking clinics take place in some of our venues across the county including:
- Bedale Leisure Centre
- Bilton Children’s Hub
- Colburn Children’s Hub
- Eastfield Children’s Centre
- Harrogate Library
- Knaresborough Children’s Centre
- Northallerton Library
- Ripon Library
- Scarborough Library
- Selby Library
- Skipton Children’s Hub
- South Craven Library
- Thirsk Library
Contact us first and request support from our Living Well Smokefree team. One of our advisors will then contact you to make the best arrangements to support you.
Useful information for stopping smoking
If you would like to try going smokefree yourself there are other free quit tools and tips available:
- download the NHS Smokefree app on the NHS website
- free Personal Quit Plan on the NHS website
- stop smoking in pregnancy information on the NHS website
- Cancer Research website also provides information on how to stop smoking.