Sheffield takes part in national campaign urging smokers to quit
SmokeFree Sheffield joined the rest of the country in the #QuitForCovid campaign.
This initiative aims to educate smokers on the increased risks they face from COVID-19 and encourage them to quit smoking.
Sarah Hepworth, leader of the tobacco control programme in Sheffield, said that the city got behind this campaign to reduce smokers’ risk from COVID-19 infection, health inequalities associated with the virus, and the pressure on the NHS.
She added: “Sheffield smokers really want to quit. This is historically the busiest quarter for the Stop Smoking Service. In the beginning of April, following the launch of #QuitforCovid, the service has had to increase the number of telephone clinics in response to the increasing demand.”
#QuitForCovid offers diverse ways of support to smokers who want to quit such as Twitter Quit Clinics every day, where experts Louise Ross and Maggie Milne answer questions on the matter.
Greg Fell, Sheffield’s Director of Public Health, supports this initiative. He said: “Smokers are three times more likely to quit successfully with experts’ help, which is why we have an excellent range of support available for smokers.”
This initiative started when Dr Charlie Kenward, a GP from Bristol, was talking to a mother and her nine-year-old. She said she was afraid to catch the virus since she was a smoker, so Dr Kenward asked her to #QuitForCovid.
He said: “It is incredible how we started with just one patient and have now teamed up with Action on Smoking and Health, a stop-smoking charity, to make the campaign national.”
SmokeFree Sheffield, a team of local people commissioned by Sheffield City Council to tackle smoking in the city, joined this campaign on April 1.
The levels of smoking in Sheffield have been decreasing over the years:
However, SmokeFree Sheffield believes this number should become lower because of the pandemic.
Marie Marriott, 42, from Sheffield, quitted smoking this week due to the virus. She said: “After reading several articles about the increased risk smokers have along with some encouragement from my little girl, I decided to quit.”
She added: “I know smoking is bad in usual circumstances but the potential bad outcome with COVID-19 is just an additional incentive.”
You can read all about this campaign in Sheffield on: www.smokefreesheffield.org/quit-for-covid