Start your journey to quit smoking this Stoptober

Statistics show that around 10% of people in Buckinghamshire regularly smoke cigarettes or tobacco. Buckinghamshire Council wants to raise awareness of the benefits of quitting smoking during the month-long national campaign, Stoptober, to encourage more people to quit smoking.

The negative impacts of smoking are well documented when it comes to health and household finances. However, within just days and weeks of stopping smoking, the positive benefits emerge, including having more energy, breathing more easily and saving money. If you can stay smoke-free for 28 days, it has been proven that you are five times more likely to quit for good.

In Buckinghamshire, a large amount of work is being done as part of a longer-term aspiration, to create a smoke-free generation. One of the key parts of this initiative is to reduce the exposure to smoking experienced by children and young people. In 2022 Buckinghamshire Council introduced the Smokefree Sidelines initiative. This Public Health campaign seeks to discourage adults from smoking on the sidelines at grassroots sporting events so as not to expose children to the effects of secondary smoke inhalation and to discourage young people from wanting to take up smoking.

Another part of the work is the creation of Smokefree Parks and Playgrounds which operates in the same way. Since the start of the Smokefree schemes:

• 11 sports clubs have signed up to Smokefree Sidelines
• 14 parks and playgrounds have gone smoke and vape-free

Angela Macpherson, Cabinet Member for Adults and Health explained: “Young people are hugely influenced by the things they see around them. If they see parents, carers and other adults smoking in everyday life such as at the playground or when watching a local sports match, it can make them more curious to try it themselves, they see it as something adults do and children by their nature as they grow, want to be like the adults around them.

“The aim of this initiative is to break that cycle of exposure so that the less children see others smoking in everyday life, the less they want to try it. We know it is a long-term goal, but we have already seen a fall nationally in the number of young people who smoke over recent years and so we believe it is achievable and we owe it to the health and wellbeing of future generations to do what we can to make it a reality.”

There are lots of ways to get help and support with quitting smoking. For local support visit the Be Healthy Bucks website: Be Healthy Bucks.

Alternatively speak to your GP or local pharmacist. More information can also be found on the NHS website.