SMOKERS visiting Dorset County Hospital have been offered advice on how to stub out the habit for good.

The Dorchester hospital held a special event for National No Smoking Day, with Mayor of Dorchester Tess James helping the hospital’s SmokeStop advisors launch the scheme.

The advisors were providing information to people visiting the hospital on the support available locally to help give up smoking.

Hospital wards and departments also joined in by putting displays and information up for patients, visitors and staff while members of the Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust board were out on patrol around the hospital grounds to spread the message that it is a smoke free site.

Health programme advisor for SmokeStop Claire Peak said: “National No Smoking Day often spurs people on to take that plunge and give up smoking.

“Much of this work is about supporting those smokers that come into the hospital and using hospital admissions as motivation to start that quit attempt.

“It’s about offering advice and making links with SmokeStop services as well as offering them ongoing advice when they leave hospital.

“Ill health is often one of the motivators for people stopping smoking and we know two thirds of smokers want to give up so this gives them an opportunity to start the process.”

Councillor James added: “As a retired physio I am totally behind the SmokeStop scheme and for anyone trying to give up smoking I know just how valuable the support they offer is.

“If you give up smoking you will improve your life in all areas so my message is: ‘Stop today’.”

For more information about support available to help stop smoking visit www.dorsetsmokestop.co.uk

Smoking information factfile

The South West has around 900,000 smokers.

Over one in three young people in the South West aged 16 to 24 smoke.

15 per cent of expectant mums smoke during pregnancy in the South West.

It is estimated that exposure to second hand smoke in the home causes 11,000 deaths in the UK each year from lung cancer, stroke and ischaemic heart disease.

The South West has the highest proportion of people who smoke ‘roll-ups’ – 33 per cent of smokers in the area use hand rolling tobacco.

Second hand smoke is still a threat to children’s health in the South West as a recent survey showed that more than one-in-five (22 per cent) adults still allow smoking inside their home.

It is estimated that one in two regular cigarette smokers will eventually be killed by their tobacco habit – half of these in middle age.

Over the last 50 years, six million Britons have died from tobacco-related diseases, three million of whom died in middle age, losing on average 20 years of life.