Pharmacies help stop smoking drive

Staff in chemists across the town will be offering customers brief advice on giving up smoking and also promoting NHS Barnsley’s stop smoking service.

As part of the scheme, people can pick up a free NHS “Quit Kit”, which includes a voucher for a week-long trial of nicotine patches, a stress-relieving toy and information about the medicines available.

Pharmacist Paul Mason said: “Because pharmacies are so well-used we have got a great opportunity to have an informal chat with people who may be ready to quit.

“By looking at the types of medicines, products or services a customer receives we can offer advice accordingly and direct smokers to the local stop smoking service for further support.”

Last year NHS Barnsley’s stop smoking service helped more than 3,400 people to quit, which was almost double the target set by the Government for the borough.

Zoe Styring, from the service, said: “While locally we know that roughly seven in 10 people don’t smoke, there are still many others who use our facilities because they want to quit.”