A NEW campaign has been started to help more smokers in Bradford kick the habit through local Stop Smoking Services.

Cancer Research UK has set up the campaign which started yesterday across Yorkshire.

It highlights familiar problems smokers suffer from, and directs people to local Stop Smoking Services, with details of how effective these services can be.

The campaign is made up of a series of posters, coupled with radio and social media adverts.

Stop Smoking Services offer specialist support and medication to help smokers have the best chance of quitting, and offer free one-to-one or group support, and tailored stop smoking programmes.

In Yorkshire, around one in five people smoke, which is higher than the national average of one in six, and the rate of deaths caused by smoking is also above average.

Councillor Val Slater, deputy leader of Bradford Council and executive member for health and wellbeing, said: “Many smokers know they should stop and want to, some may have tried to quit previously via willpower alone and failed.

“For a variety of reasons, we know a lot of smokers feel it is just too difficult for them to give up for good. With help from one of our Stop Smoking advisers in Bradford, offering support and advice, you will have the best chance of quitting for good. You’re around three times more likely to stop smoking if you use a local Stop Smoking Service rather than going it alone, and the proof is there with hundreds of former smokers in Bradford who quit for good after using the Bradford District stop smoking service ”

George Butterworth, Cancer Research UK’s tobacco control manager, added: “We can’t forget that tobacco is the single biggest preventable cause of cancer. It is linked to at least 14 different types of the disease including most lung cancers – the leading cause of cancer deaths in Yorkshire and the Humber. We believe that every smoker should have access to the most effective method of giving up smoking, which is available through specialist Stop Smoking Services.”

To find a stop smoking advisor, visit nhs.uk/smokefreelocal or contact the Bradford District Stop Smoking Service on 01274 437700.