{"id":465872,"date":"2025-10-01T13:38:13","date_gmt":"2025-10-01T13:38:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/465872\/"},"modified":"2025-10-01T13:38:13","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T13:38:13","slug":"public-health-officials-back-stoptober","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/465872\/","title":{"rendered":"Public health officials back Stoptober"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Public Health Liverpool is backing the national Stoptober campaign with a powerful local push to help residents quit smoking for good \u2013 and this year, there\u2019s more support than ever before.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Backed by Liverpool City Council and Smokefree Liverpool, the campaign will feature real-life stories from local people, including Jason Scott, 58, who quit smoking after more than 40 years. His story, along with others, will be shared across Facebook, Instagram, and Google, targeting communities most affected by smoking-related harm.<\/p>\n<p>The campaign\u2019s message is one of motivation and hope: no matter how many times you\u2019ve tried before, now is the perfect time to quit \u2013 and Liverpool has more quit support options than ever before.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Support That Works<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Smokefree Liverpool offers a wide range of free support options, including:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Face-to-face or telephone support with trained advisors<\/li>\n<li>Free nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) like patches or gum<\/li>\n<li>Varenicline or a free vape to help manage cravings<\/li>\n<li>Access to a dedicated quit-smoking app<\/li>\n<li>Expert guidance every step of the way<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Join the Stoptober Challenge<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Sign up to quit smoking with Smokefree Liverpool between 22 September and 30 October and you could win a \u00a340 Love2Shop voucher. To enter, stay smokefree for 28 days and verify your quit with a CO reading.<\/p>\n<p>Quitting for 28 days makes you five times more likely to quit for good. The benefits start almost immediately:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>After 20 minutes: pulse returns to normal<\/li>\n<li>After 8 hours: oxygen levels recover<\/li>\n<li>After 48 hours: carbon monoxide levels drop to non-smoker levels<\/li>\n<li>After 72 hours: breathing becomes easier<\/li>\n<li>After 2\u201312 weeks: circulation improves<\/li>\n<li>And you could save around \u00a3230 in just 28 days<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Get Involved<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Visit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.smokefreeliverpool.co.uk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">www.smokefreeliverpool.co.uk<\/a> to sign up, or call 0151 374 2535 to get started. Whether it\u2019s your first attempt or your tenth, this Stoptober, it\u2019s well worth it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Cabinet Member for Public Health, Councillor Harry Doyle, said: <\/strong>\u201cWe\u2019ve had huge success over the last couple of decades in reducing smoking rates in Liverpool but we have an ambition to make the city smoke free over the next few years.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne of the key things is for people to never quit trying to quit, because eventually, with the right support, they will succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Director of Public Health for Liverpool, Professor Matt Ashton, added: <\/strong>\u201cSmoking remains one of the biggest causes of preventable illness and death in Liverpool.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStoptober is a fantastic opportunity for people to take that first step towards quitting, and this year we\u2019re making it easier than ever.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith free expert support, nicotine replacement options, and inspiring local stories, we want every smoker in Liverpool to know \u2013 it\u2019s never too late to quit, and it\u2019s well worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Jason Scott said:<\/strong> \u201cI\u2019ve smoked since I was 15, but after losing my mum and brother to smoking-related illnesses, I knew it was time to stop.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith the support of Smokefree Liverpool, I\u2019ve stayed strong and I\u2019m proud to say I\u2019ve quit. I hope my story helps others take that first step.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Public Health Liverpool is backing the national Stoptober campaign with a powerful local push to help residents quit&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":465873,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8815],"tags":[748,393,4884,179,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-465872","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-liverpool","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-liverpool","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115299189041739322","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/465872","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=465872"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/465872\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/465873"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=465872"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=465872"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=465872"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}