Quitting for the New Year?
After last July’s smoking ban in pubs and restaurants and October’s raising of the legal age for cigarette purchase from 16 to 18, 2007 really has been the year to encourage smokers to quit tobacco. If you still have good intentions but didn’t make it smoke-free through the festive season, it’s not too late. Hastings & Rother Stop Smoking Service is free to any smokers out there with a New Year resolution to quit.
Managed by the local Primary Care Trust, the service is professionally run by specialist nurse advisers and offers tailor-made advice to all clients. There are drop-in clinics around Hastings 6 days of the week in a good choice of locations. If you drop in, an assessment begins with a carbon monoxide reading, taken from a breath sample which gives each individual an idea of the levels of toxins in their body.
All nicotine replacement treatment is given by prescription, which makes it a much more affordable option than it over the counter from a chemist. Clients can choose from patches, chewing gum, inhalators, lozenges, microtabs, nasal spray and drug treatments Champix and Zyban – these are not suitable for everyone but can be an effective way to tackle nicotine addiction. The Stop Smoking Service also makes workplace visits, visits to patients in hospital, and pregnant women at home.
Drop-in Clinics:
Monday: Central Hastings Childrens Centre 11am-12pm; Arthur Blackman Clinic Battle Road 6-8pm
Tuesday: East Hastings Children’s Centre 10am-12pm; Salvation Army St Andrews Sq 10am-12pm; Conquest Hospital Social Club 11.30am-1.30pm
Wednesday: Robsack Community Centre Bodiam Drive 11.30-1.30pm; Hastings Info Centre, Town Hall 12-2pm; The Bridge, Priory Road, 12-1.30pm;Marlborough House, Warrior Square 1-3pm
Thursday: Tilekilm Community Centre 9.30-11am;
Ore Clinic 10am-12pm; South Saxon GP Surgery
2-3pm; Summerfields Leisure Centre
Friday: Marlborough House, Warrior Square
10-11.30am; Conquest Hospital, Outpatients 2-4pm
Saturday: White Rock Hotel 9-10am
For more information and all drop-in clinics:
www.smokefreeeastsussex.org.uk/quitting/localservices/hastingsrother/
