Welcome to our December SmokeFree Hull Newsletter, packed with lots of useful tips on coping with cravings throughout the festive period, success stories, and a Christmas recipe to support you on your smokefree journey during the holiday season.
Service Update - Service Manager Tracy
Wow, what a year it has been!
You might have seen and chatted with one of our team at the many community events that we’ve attended throughout the year. It’s been lovely to engage with the residents of Hull, and we really feel part of the community.
This year has seen the service receive its highest number of referrals and enquiries from people who want to stop smoking than ever before, and through the support and interventions offered by our dedicated SmokeFree Advisors, nearly 1000 quits were achieved across Hull which is fantastic!
Cost of living
We’re all feeling the pinch right now with the rise in cost of living and bills and fuel prices increasing, which has made many of us change our spending habits. By stopping smoking, you don’t only feel the amazing health benefits, but you feel the financial rewards too.
You could spend up to £270 a month on cigarettes and over £4,000 a year depending on your smoking habits. That’s a lot of money that could be spent on other things next year.
We’re accepting referrals, so if you do want to stop smoking now or in the New Year, we can support you or your family members to achieve your goal.
I hope you can enjoy the festive season, and I wish you all a healthy and happy 2023.
Meet the team
Our SmokeFree Hull team are here for you, we’re all passionate about helping our local community stop smoking and making you feel happier and healthier by achieving your quit goals.
We know it can be hard reaching out to a service, but our friendly team are here to support you.
Meet the teamStaying smokefree during Christmas
We know that the festive period is a very tempting time when you’re trying to stop smoking, so the trick to staying smokefree is to plan ahead.
Our Advisors have put together some useful tips to use over Christmas and the New Year, so you can feel in control of your cravings.
Success story
A smokefree client
I started smoking when I was 15 years old whilst I was at school, it was just what everyone did back then. We used to go to the local shop and get them, and now I’ve smoked for 50 years. When I first started, I didn’t smoke many cigarettes, maybe five a week, but as I got older, and I started work, everyone smoked. Gradually I increased to 20 cigarettes a day. Both my parents smoked whilst I was growing up as well, so it just seemed the done thing to do in those days.
I like to keep fit by playing netball and I ride my bike a lot too, but I found I was getting out of breath doing the things that I loved. I’d seen first-hand how smoking can affect a family, as I have relatives with emphysema, and I was frightened when I became breathless when doing exercise.
I received a message from my doctor’s surgery about stopping smoking, so this encouraged me to do something about it, and I contacted SmokeFree Hull for support. I always loved playing Netball, and I didn’t want to put that at risk. With my age, I thought I’d done the damage already, but I still wanted to give quitting a go and I’m so glad that I did.
Years ago, I’d tried to quit three or four times before, but my husband got really ill and had a stroke and his whole personality changed, so it was a very hard and stressful time for me. I turned to cigarettes to cope, which felt like the only thing that helped me tackle everything at the time. My husband is doing much better now, so I feel like I can try again with the right support.
I used patches to help me come off cigarettes, firstly at 21, and then I went down to 14, then 7, but I found the 7 wasn’t very helpful, so I went back up to 14. However now I don’t need them at all anymore, and I’m off the patches completely which is great. Sometimes I have an urge to have a cigarette, but I don’t want to go back on the patches, so I’ll try a lozenge instead if I ever need anything again.
To help with the cravings I played with jigsaws, or anything to do with my hands, as I found this distraction really helpful. I tried to concentrate on something else to make the cravings pass, knitting was good as well, but I’m not very good at it!
My Stop Smoking Advisor Mhairi was very helpful, as I knew she was going to call at a specific time, so I knew I could rely on her. Without this call I think I would have given up long before now without this level of support.
I welcomed the calls each week as it was nice to talk to someone, it was a bit of reassurance for me, at least someone cared and was encouraging me to quit which I found really positive.
I now think to myself, why did I waste all that money all those years on cigarettes.?! Now, with the money that I’ve saved I try to treat myself, which helps to spare me on too, I think what else can I buy myself this month? It’s made such a difference to my life by being able to breathe better, continue to play netball and having the extra money now is very important as well.
I would highly recommend the service, it really worked for me. The extra calls and support once a week helped spare me on to continue with my goals. Mhairi was very nice, always available to talk and go through everything with me clearly – I really enjoyed our chats!
From my own personal experience, I would say to anyone looking to stop smoking, to just keep going! It is hard, but it’s worth it. I’ve now been smokefree for 3.5 months.
I haven’t been on my bike just yet due to the weather getting bad, but I’ve been back at netball and I’m feeling great!
Christmas mince pies by SmokeFree Advisor Chelsea
Staying healthy and smokefree means more than just stopping smoking. Eating a healthy, balanced diet is an important part of maintaining good health and can help you feel at your best….But at Christmas it’s nice to treat yourself too!
With the cold weather and cold nights, this is just the ticket to keep you warm, whilst keeping your hands busy, and it’s low in calories too!
Prep 25 minutes plus resting time.
Cook 15 mins
- Low-calorie cooking spray
- 8oz plain flour
- A pinch of salt
- 4oz butter or margarine
- 16-level tbsp mincemeat
- 1 level tsp icing sugar to dust
Method
- Preheat the oven to 190 c/375F or Gas mark 5. Lightly spray some bun tins with the low-calorie cooking oil spray. Make the pastry.
- 2. Sift the flour and salt into a mixing bowl. Add the butter/margarine and gently rub in it in with clean fingertips. Add sufficient cold water to mix to a ball that leaves the side of the bowl clean. Rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- 3. Roll out the pastry thinly on a lightly floured surface. Cut out 32 rounds with a 3-inch fluted cutter. Use to line the prepared bun tins.
- 4. Divide the mincemeat between the pastry cases. Roll out the remaining pastry trimmings and make some little star shapes with a star cutter. Use to decorate the tops of the pies.
- 5. Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes, until the pastry is crisp and lightly coloured. Cool on a baking rack and dust lightly with the icing sugar.
Stop-Smoking Community Champion Training
As many of you know, healthcare professionals and our SmokeFree Hull Advisors play a vital role in supporting smokers to quit. However, sometimes the support can come from someone closer to home – a family member, a work colleague, or a neighbour perhaps!
We want to support these smokefree ‘champions’ to help more people quit, so we’re now offering free stop smoking training to equip people with the knowledge and resources needed to support more people.
What’s the offer?
Do you have a paid or voluntary role that includes promoting healthy lifestyles within a workplace or a community setting?
Our new 2-hour workshop is aimed at people who want to include smoking cessation advice and information as part of their workplace or community role.
The session covers the harmful effects of smoking and the benefits of quitting plus advice on talking to people about their smoking and referring them to specialist services. It’s designed to help you to help others.
It also includes generating and sharing ideas on how to use whatever resources you have, such as noticeboards, awareness stands and social media to spread the smoking cessation message. You’ll also learn about the resources SmokeFree Hull can provide you with to help with your role.
After the training, you can do as much or as little as you want to fit in with your lifestyle.
Find out more about our training here or complete this form to register your interest.
Useful links
We understand the festive period can be hard for some people. For information, wellbeing advice and support, see the following links.
Get in touch
We’d love to hear from you!
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