City gives smokers say in drive to help more people stub out habit

SMOKERS – and those who have quit – are being asked to give their opinions on stop smoking services in South Yorkshire.

Figures show that in Sheffield around 97,000 people – or one in five adults – smoke.

However, in some areas of the city, the number of smokers is nearer to one in three.

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A spokesman for Sheffield Council said that “more needs to be done” to cut the number of people who are still smoking.

They said: “Significant progress in stopping smoking has been made over the past few years, including a reduction in the number of smoking-related deaths from 923 in 2010 to 854 in 2012.

“However, we recognise that more still needs to be done to reduce the impact that smoking has on health, mortality and morbidity.”

Sheffield Council has teamed up with the other three authorities within South Yorkshire to launch a consultation on the county’s stop smoking services.

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This consultation is due to close on Friday, July 26 and will “help to determine the priorities for future services”.

Coun Mary Lea, Sheffield Council’s cabinet member for health, care and independent living, said: “We are determined to improve the support that is available across the region to help smokers stop, or at least consider stopping smoking.”

She added: “We believe that support services need to become more flexible, innovative and accessible so that people have more choice in where, when and how they access a service.

“That’s why we need smokers to tell us what they think about services they’ve received in the past and what they want from stop smoking services in the future.

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“We are also interested in hearing from ex-smokers, as their expertise and experiences can help us to improve the services we provide.

“The questionnaire will only take a few minutes to complete and responses will be valuable in shaping the future of stop smoking services.”

The questionnaire can be completed online by visiting the website at http://tolu.na/11Y92uv.

However, for a paper copy, people who wish to take part in the consultation can also call the Public Health Team at Sheffield Council on 0114 2057466.