SMOKERS ENCOURAGED TO TAKE PART IN STOPTOBER AS THEY REPORT SMOKING MORE DURING THE PANDEMIC

Stoptober is back to launch its 11th mass quit attempt on 1st October, calling on smokers in England
to join the 2.5 million others who have made a quit attempt with the campaign since it launched a
decade ago in 201239.

Over 6 million adults in England still smoke, and it remains the leading cause of premature death40.

with almost 75,000 preventable deaths a year41. A new nationwide survey of 2,000 current smokers released today has found that nearly half (45%) have been smoking more since the first lockdown began42. Key reasons reported are being bored in the lockdowns (43%) or the pandemic making them more anxious (42%)43. What’s more, data from the monthly UCL Smoking Toolkit Study indicates a large increase in smoking among the under-35s since the coronavirus pandemic, up from 18% in 2019 to 24% now44.

When you stop smoking, you start doing so much more, from moving better to saving money, and being able to breathe more easily.  From this year’s campaign we are encouraging smokers in Tower Hamlets to get these benefits and join with thousands of others who are making a quit attempt during October.

Stopping smoking is the best way for smokers and tobacco users to improve their quality of life. The benefits of stopping can be felt straight away! Over 900 people quit smoking in Tower Hamlets last year with our local stop smoking services.

This ‘Stoptober’ get free support and information around quitting smoking by contacting your local stop smoking service Quit Right Tower Hamlets. Call 0207 882 8230, email clinicbookings@qmul.ac.uk or contact us via our contact form.

Changes to our Twitter account

Queen Mary University London is now the Stop Smoking provider for Newham and Waltham Forest as well as Tower Hamlets. Residents in all three boroughs can access all the help they need to quit smoking.

Our service is still free of charge and is open to anyone aged over 12 who lives, works, studies or is registered with a GP in those boroughs.

The programme offers a range of support tailored to smokers needs including:

• One-to-one telephone, digital or face-to-face support from a specialist stop smoking practitioner. Evening and weekend appointments available.
• Free nicotine replacement therapy such as patches and gum, and, if suitable, stop smoking medication such as Champix or Zyban.
• Online resources, digital support, and apps available 24-hours-a-day as well.
• The service is e-cigarette friendly and if you can’t quit just yet, can support you to smoke less.
• Support is available in a wide range of languages.

Queen Mary University of London has been providing stop smoking support for over 20 years and as such we will be rebranding @QuitRight_TH to reflect the expansion of our services into Newham and Waltham Forest and streamline all our services under the Queen Mary name. This way we can best reflect our expertise and update our followers.

@QMUL_Quitsmoking (formerly @TH_Quitright), we will be covering all sessions covered by the service, news as well as providing information and updates on upcoming campaigns for all our followers within Tower Hamlets, Newham, and Waltham Forest. So please follow, like and share to your friends, family, and co-workers!

39 PHE Monitoring Evaluation Data, 2021
40 https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/deathsregistrationsummarytables/2020
41 ONS mortality statistics: NHS Digital Statistics on Smoking, England 2020 https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/statistics-onsmoking/statistics-on-smoking-england-2020
42 Opinium online survey conducted across a representative sample of 2,000 smokers in England, 20th – 31st August 2021 over 18 years.
43 Opinium online survey conducted across a representative sample of 2,000 smokers in England, 20th – 31st August 2021 over 18 years.
44 UCL Smoking Toolkit Study, 2020 https://smokinginengland.info/graphs/top-line-findings
45 PHE Monitoring Evaluation Data, 2021

NHS Statistics on Smoking, England 2020 https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/statistics-on-smoking/statistics-on-smokingengland-2020