These changes are part of a larger scheme which sees NHS services in Sheffield and Barnsley joining together, after NHS Sheffield appointed Barnsley NHS’ Care Services Direct to manage the Sheffield NHS Stop Smoking Service, from 1st July 2010.

In order to increase the number of smokers that the Sheffield NHS Stop Smoking Service help to quit, NHS Sheffield invited organisations to bid to deliver the service, and appointed Care Services Direct after being impressed by their innovative thinking.

The changes to services will see a new city centre stop smoking shop, the likes of which is already successfully operated in Barnsley. The Sheffield shop, due to open later in the year, will be open six days plus at least one late night each week and offer a no-appointment-necessary drop-in service.

Further changes also include a new nicotine replacement therapy scheme; so that clients attending for stop smoking support in community settings have the option of going straight to their pharmacy for stop smoking medicines, which include patches and gum.

They will also explore opportunities to develop telephone, text and internet based stop smoking support. Support is currently only offered face to face. Also, the use of incentives, such as gym and slimming world vouchers; and having a mobile unit so that the service can go where it is most needed are being considered.

Jeremy Wight, Director of Public Health at NHS Sheffield said: “We were delighted to be able to offer Care Services Direct the contract to deliver the Sheffield NHS Stop Smoking Service. Not only did they put in a fantastic bid, it’s also great for the people of South Yorkshire to see NHS organisations from Barnsley and Sheffield working together in this innovative way.

“The existing Stop Smoking Service is very successful and provides a great service to smokers in the city who use it, however, we wanted to develop the service further to increase the number of people using it, and we recognised a number of changes to make the service more flexible, could help ensure that the service meets the modern day needs of people in the city. It’s vital that we do everything we can to help smokers stop, because people who smoke regularly die an average of ten years earlier than those who don’t.”

Sean Rayner, Chief Operating Officer for Care Services Direct said: “We are really pleased to win the stop smoking contract and look forward to working with NHS Sheffield to improve the health of local people, offering services to those that need support to stop smoking.”

The service will continue to support and work in partnership with General Practices, Pharmacies and Dental Practices who also deliver high quality support to help smokers to quit. NHS

Sheffield have set Care Services Direct the challenge of supporting 3000 people to successfully quit smoking each year*. Furthermore, the service will continue to work alongside the additional stop smoking support in the city, including Midwifery led support for pregnant women to quit, the Workplace Advisor who attends local businesses to help staff to quit, and support in areas of the city where smoking prevalence is highest.

NHS Sheffield is one of the first primary care trust (PCT) in Yorkshire and the Humber to put the delivery of their stop smoking service to tender. It follows a model employed by a number of other PCTs elsewhere in the country, including in the North-West and the West Midlands. All staff who are currently employed by the Sheffield NHS Stop Smoking Service will be able to continue working for the service under the new management.

A female resident escaped unharmed after a smoldering cigarette was believed to have started a fire which destroyed a bedroom and loft at a house in Sheffield earlier this week. Firefighters spent several hours putting out the fire at the terraced property on Woodburn Drive, Stannington, which also caused extensive smoke damage to the rest of the house.

And in a separate incident just 24 hours earlier, a 79 year old man was taken to hospital with burns to his right leg after he fell asleep in his chair whilst smoking. Luckily, a knock on the door woke the resident and firefighters put out the fire before it spread to the rest of the property on St Elizabeth Close, Heeley, Sheffield.

South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue has just launched a campaign aimed at reducing the number smoking related incidents it attends, with smoking still the biggest cause of deaths in accidental house fires across the county.

Steve Makepeace, Head of Community Safety at South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue, said: “These two incidents, each within a few hours of each other, again highlight the dangers of smoking. A house has been devastated by fire and a man has been taken to hospital. Fortunately, the residents involved in these two incidents escaped with their lives. But on any day the outcomes could have been far more serious.

“The message to smokers could not be clearer. Never smoke in bed, never leave a lit cigarette unattended, always ensure that cigarettes are put out properly and keep lighters and matches out of the reach of children.”

Smokers can help to keep the risk of fire low, by following some basic fire safety advice:

• Never smoke in bed- it’s very easy to fall asleep and allow your cigarette to set light to your bedclothes or furnishings
• Don’t smoke if you’re drowsy- especially if you’re sitting in a comfortable chair or if you’ve been drinking or taking prescription drugs. Again, it’s easy to fall asleep
• Don’t leave a lighted cigarette, pipe or cigar unattended – they can easily overbalance and land on the carpet or other flammable material
• Make totally sure that your butts aren’t still smoldering- wet them and empty your ashtray into a metal bin outside the house
• Keep lighters, matches and smoking materials out of the reach of children- you can also buy child-resistant lighters and containers for matches

For more information and fire safety advice visit the South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue website, www.syfire.gov.uk or follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com/syfr. To arrange a free Home Safety Check call 0114 253 2314 or text FREE to 87023.

For stop smoking advice and support contact the Sheffield NHS Stop Smoking Service on freephone 0800 068 4490.

This year seventeen 13 year old students from Valley Park Primary performed ‘I’d Do Anything’ from ‘Oliver’ on the City Hall steps. The song is part of the national Department of Health advertising campaign currently featuring on TV with a simple theme: that kids would be prepared to do anything for their parents if their parents stopped smoking.

The Sheffield Stop Smoking website www.sheffieldstopsmoking.org.uk has added the feature of a blog by local stop smoking advisers, which this week is being taken over by a real life quitters’ stories and advice.

Claire Holden, Service Manager for NHS Sheffield said: “Adding the facility for advisers to blog on the website helps others see first hand personal stories, add comments, or ask burning questions about quitting.

“Many people have a quit story and we want to encourage people to share them. You may not think yours is unique or interesting, however how you quit, and what you learned along the way can be a big help to others who are just starting their quitting journey.

“Steve has been a smoker for years and is a classic example of never giving up giving up. His experience is one that many people will be able to relate to and we are very grateful that Steve wants to help others as much as possible.”

For more information, help to quit smoking call 0800 068 4490 or visit the www.sheffieldstopsmoking.org.uk or text QUIT4 to 88020.

Read Steve’s story here.

“I have attempted to quit umpteen times in the past using patches, lozenges, gum & I even went to hypnotherapy (twice), all attempts to quit were futile because, in my opinion, I was trying to quit for the wrong reasons… I knew I should quit, I was quitting for somebody else, I was quitting to save money or I was quitting for my health.

“All of the above reasons are valid and true reasons to quit, the only difference this time is that I WANTED to quit, the WANTING is the key.

“My last cigarette was on 29^th November 2009, I was using Zyban tablets and going for 1 to 1 support with NHS Sheffield’s stop smoking service. I also read the much acclaimed book “The Easy Way to Stop Smoking” by Alan Carr. Together, this book and the fantastic support from my stop smoking adviser, I not only successfully stopped smoking, I also stopped using the Zyban after 2 weeks into the 12 week course.

“Over the Christmas and New Year period, I was experiencing a very stressful time, I watched my mother pass away very slowly from secondary breast cancer. I still did not resort to smoke ‘to ease the stress’ because I knew it wouldn’t help me get through it all, people lose family members all the time, whether they smoke or not, so I believed I could cope through this as a non smoker and I have, with flying colours.

“I also joined a gym 2 weeks before I quit to help with the “new” lifestyle. 1 month after not smoking, my health improved vastly, this is a combination of working out and not smoking. The difference was a huge boost to me and proved to me that quitting has made me a much healthier and stronger person, not just physically but mentally too, my outlook is so much more optimistic and positive.

“A positive mental attitude and some determination, we humans can achieve anything we want to, if we WANT to.

“If you are trying to quit smoking and you fail, don’t be down hearted or hard on yourself, try again. There are no rules to quitting, we are all different in how we do things, if it takes another 10 attempts before you DO quit, so what, at least you tried and eventually won. Remember, you are not missing out on anything by quitting, you only stand to gain.”

This year seventeen 13 year old students from Valley Park Primary school will perform ‘I’d Do Anything’ from ‘Oliver’ on the City Hall steps. The song forms part of the national Department of Health advertising campaign currently featuring on TV with a simple theme: that kids would be prepared to do anything for their parents if their parents stopped smoking.

Claire Holden, service manager for NHS Sheffield’s stop smoking service said:” Research shows 96% of children whose parents smoke want them to quit, and that quitting for your loved ones is the most motivating factor for a large majority of smokers, above health.

“We hope this will encourage parents in particular to pledge to quit, therefore improving their own health and the health of their children. We have community stop smoking advisers running advice sessions for parents of Valley Park Primary pupils on a Wednesday morning at the school.”

South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue District Manager Dick Hutton said: “Unfortunately, many people die in fires caused by smoking. Smoking materials are the single largest source of fatal fires, with 41% of fatal accidental house fires starting this way. The safest way to protect yourself and your children from fire is to quit smoking altogether, which is why we are keen to support our partners at NHS Sheffield on this annual national drive.”

In line with this year’s No Smoking Day theme of ‘breaking the chain’ of smoking, children’ are getting involved to help get the message across to their parents as statistics show that children whose parents smoke are two and three times more likely to smoke than those who come from non-smoking homes* – so we are looking to break that chain now.

The Stop smoking service is also asking people to sign pledges this year to quit smoking. The pledge could be who you are quitting smoking for – a child, or loved one, or why you are quitting smoking this year – to improve your health or save money.

To make your pledge, or for help to quit smoking, please ring freephone 0800 068 4490, visit www.sheffieldstopsmoking.org.uk or text QUIT4 to 88020

Make your pledge by leaving a reply below.

 Is New Year a good time to quit? Let us know your experiences, positive or otherwise. 

Have you kept to your resolution of a smokefree lifestyle?  Let us know.

For info and support on stopping smoking call Sheffield Stop Smoking Service Helpline  on Freephone: 0800 068 4490

The city’s stop smoking workplace initiative will see temporary stop smoking clinics being set-up at two of Sheffield’s business parks. The clinics will be held one day each week at each business park over a five week period – beginning on the 19th January.

Claire Holden Manager at NHS Sheffield Stop Smoking Service said: “We know many people in Sheffield work in and around business parks so we wanted to offer stop smoking support in an environment that employees from many different organisations can go to for help and advice.

“The stop smoking workplace initiative has already been very successful, with many employers keen to support staff by offering the stop smoking service at work, including Norbert Dentressangle, Bovis Lend Lease, and William Cook. However this is the first time that we will be offering a clinic in one location to a number of organisations at one time.”

Cllr Gail Smith, the Council’s Cabinet member for Independent and Healthy Living said: “This is a great opportunity for you and your colleagues to meet the Stop Smoking team. Many people have already taken the chance to stop smoking with their support and are benefitting from improvements to their health as well as their wallets! Local businesses are also benefitting as sick leave is reduced, so take a few minutes of your lunch break to drop in – it could be the most important decision you take this year!”

If you would like more information on the Stop Smoking workforce initiative please contact Lucy Ball on 0114 273 4616 or email Lucy.Ball@sheffield.gov.uk

Free confidential support and advice to help you stop smoking is available in Sheffield, close to where you live work & play. The Sheffield NHS Stop Smoking Service provides highly effective programmes that include a weekly support package and nicotine replacement therapy, such as patches or alternative medicine.

The NHS support package is many more times effective than willpower alone. Giving up smoking will improve your health and save you money. It will also protect the health of your family.

Find your nearest service by giving us a call today free on 0800 068 4490, to do the one single thing that can dramatically improve your health almost straight away!

Contact us here at Sheffield Stop Smoking Service and make the start of 2010 the best start you can by Quitting! Ring us on 0800 068 4490