Employees at Royal Mail were ready for the new smokefree legislation coming in on July 1st thanks to the help of the Sheffield NHS Stop Smoking Service from Sheffield Primary Care Trust, at a ‘health and well-being’ week that Royal Mail held for their employees.
A specialist advisor was on hand from the Stop Smoking Service to provide information on stopping smoking and to offer NHS quit programmes to Royal Mail staff, and included carbon monoxide testing. The Service was present at both the Pond Street and Chesterfield depots.
Ten staff signed up to an NHS quit programme, held over seven weeks at Royal Mail, after being amazed by their carbon monoxide test results.
Karen Neely a Royal Mail employee said: “The help from the Sheffield NHS Stop Smoking Service was just what I needed – that extra bit of support helped me through the process.”
Karen, who has been smokefree for five weeks after the service attended the Royal Mail depot, commented on the carbon monoxide tests, she said: “I think the biggest motivator for me to quit was the carbon monoxide testing. At the beginning of each session we had to blow into a monitor that measured how much carbon monoxide was in our lungs. At the start I was measuring 20 and then the following week I measured 11. By the third week I was down to one which is where a non smoker would sit; this was really encouraging to see.”
Carol Savage, Stop Smoking Service specialist advisor said: “The carbon monoxide monitoring was really effective. All the employees of Royal Mail were amazed to see how much toxic gases are being put into their working environment. It was definitely an eye opener!”
“The company are an example to other organisations in Sheffield and should be commended for encouraging their employees to stop smoking and providing the extra support by holding these awareness weeks.”
The whole awareness week proved to be a real success. Fionna Upton, also a Royal Mail employee found quitting extremely difficult but said she couldn’t have got this far without the help of the service. She said: “I have had my ups and downs, when I first started the programme I didn’t manage to stick to it. However thanks to the constant help and support from the Sheffield NHS Stop Smoking Service I have managed to stay away from cigarettes for three weeks now.”
Fionna was so impressed by the team that she has already recommended a friend. She continued: “I have tried other methods to give up smoking in the past but none have been as effective as the service that the Sheffield NHS Stop Smoking team offer. They really help you and never frown upon you if you have a bad week and slip up. Instead they work through the issues that you find difficult and try to overcome them.”
Smokers who wish to quit can call the Sheffield NHS Stop Smoking Service on 0800 068 4490 (you will not be charged for the call). The Service provides highly effective programmes that include nicotine replacement therapy, such as patches, and similar medication on NHS prescription.
|
