A comprehensive choice of support is available for local smokers to stop, via the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead commissioned service Smokefreelife Berkshire.
The service launched this month with two levels of support - self-help digital including an app, and specialist aids which include nicotine replacement therapies such as patches, gum, and non-disposable e-cigarettes.
The service is free for Royal Borough residents aged 12 and over. Residents can refer themselves or via a healthcare professional.
Across the borough, 8.6 per cent of adults are smokers according to the latest data from the Office of National Statistics.
The council has also secured an additional £152,132 in government funding this year under the Local Stop Smoking Services and Support Grant (LSSS). This funding is to enhance the abilities of councils to target priority groups in their areas.
Councillor Catherine Del Campo, Cabinet Member for Adults, Health, and Housing Services, said: “This enhanced support will give smokers a wide range of tools that are right for them to boost their chances of stopping for good.”
“And thanks to the additional LSSS Grant, it will give us more punch to better target and strengthen our support for our smokers.”
Jonas Thompson-McCormick, Interim Director of Public Health at the Royal Borough said: “Smoking is dangerous and one of the biggest causes of lives being cut short in the UK, increasing a person's risk of stroke, dementia, heart disease and cancer.
“But it's never too late – because stopping will improve your health whatever your age and no matter how long you’ve smoked. After one year, your risk of heart attack halves compared to a smoker's. After ten years, your risk of death from lung cancer falls by half. After 15, your risk of heart attack is the same as someone who’s never smoked.”
Visit the Smokefree Berkshire website to find out more about the service.