Kick the habit

OLDHAM Primary Care Trust has joined forces with major shopping outlets across the borough in an ambitious campaign to help Oldhamers quit the killer fags while they shop.

Lung cancer is one of Oldham’s biggest cancer killers, with 417 of us dying each year from smoking-related diseases.

Our borough also has one of the highest lung cancer death rates in the country.

A stop smoking advisor is already based at Tesco in Failsworth and is available during lunchtimes and after 5pm.

Regular drop-in sessions also take place at Tesco Pharmacy and also at Sainsbury’s in Union Street.

But, from tomorrow, the PCT will be stepping up the drive with a number of new stop smoking sessions taking place between now and December.

From 9.30am-4.30pm tomorrow, smokers can climb on board a stop smoking bus at Tesco in Featherstall Road and talk to specially-trained advisors, who can help them give up while they stock up on their groceries.

And more help sessions are in the pipeline, with busy Oldhamers getting the chance to pick up information on how to stop smoking in the Spindles shopping centre on October 31 and December 29.

A quit-smoking advice session will also be held at Oldham Athletics Boundary Park on November 1.

The PCT is hoping the moves will help them build on the success of their popular stop smoking initiative, which has already seen 2,418 people quit between March 2007 and April this year.

During the sessions, people will also be given help to quit smokeless tobacco, such as chewing tobacco, paan and hookahs, which, contrary to popular belief, also pose a danger to health.

A spokesman for the PCT said: “All smokeless tobacco is harmful and causes cancer and some of the health problems smoking tobacco such as cigarettes causes. However, many people are unaware that is is harmful and addictive.”

Wasim Mahmood, a stop smoking advisor with Oldham Community Health Services (part of Oldham PCT), who is running tomorrow’s session, revealed that the trend of picking up timely advice while doing your weekly shop could become an even more regular feature in Oldham.

She said: “We have found many of the people who have dropped into our regular sessions at local supermarkets have gone on to make appointments for help in stopping smoking.

“So this really seems to be an effective way of providing the support people need where they are. We hope to run more sessions at more supermarkets.”