It might taste great in a Boxing Day curry, but a ‘cold turkey’ approach to quitting smoking without support is unlikely to be the best recipe for success in the New Year, according to NHS’s free stop smoking service, Stop Smoking Wales.

Smokers in Monmouthshire who want to quit as a New Years’ Resolution are being urged  to ‘warm up’ to their new year quit attempt by contacting Stop Smoking Wales in December to line up a programme of free NHS support to help them kick the habit in January.

New statistics have confirmed that smokers who quit using the free support on offer from Stop Smoking Wales are four times as likely as those who go it alone to stay smoke-free for at least 12 months.

The Stop Smoking Wales sessions, which take place at venues across Monmouthshire, including Chepstow Hospital, Caldicot Library, Abergavenny Old Station Surgery and at Nevill Hall Hospital, are typically three times busier in January than in December. 

Claire Thomas, Service Lead at Stop Smoking Wales, is calling on smokers to avoid the rush and contact the service today to lay the foundations for a successful New Year quit attempt.  Smokers who attend Stop Smoking Wales sessions in December can choose a quit date, for example New Year’s Day, and then pre-arrange a series of free NHS stop smoking sessions, as well as sorting out free nicotine replacement therapy, to support their New Years’ Resolution quit attempt.

Claire said: “With the Christmas party season well underway, it’s likely many prospective quitters will wait until January 1st before starting their quit attempt.  If you’re planning on giving up cigarettes as your New Years’ Resolution, you certainly won’t be alone. Around 350,000 of us in Wales will set the goal of improving some aspect of our health at the start of 2016, and stopping smoking is one of the most targeted aspects. 

“But waiting until New Year’s Day to start the resolution of quitting cigarettes isn’t always the best way - a survey last year showed the average resolution lasted just 24 days.  Quitting smoking without support can be a challenge but-the good news for smokers in Monmouthshire is that they don’t have to go it alone and their journey to a smoke-free future can start today with a call to Stop Smoking Wales.”

People who quit smoking will notice their health improving in a short period of time, with the breathing of someone who quit on New Year’s Days becoming easier as soon as January 3rd, blood circulation improving by January 14th and by next Christmas, their risk of heart attack falling to half that of a smoker; resulting in a healthier, more energised year ahead.

The health benefits aren’t the only bit of Christmas cheer for smokers planning to quit, within a year the average smoker would have an extra £1752 to spend on presents for friends and family, a big incentive for their loved ones to pass on the Stop Smoking Wales telephone and website details this December.

Stop Smoking Wales supports quitters in Wales, with hints, tips, coping strategies and access to the most suitable and free nicotine replacement therapies, through face to face sessions, telephone services and an innovative online tool at www.stopsmokingwales.com/online. People who are interested in receiving free effective help from Stop Smoking Wales, to make their 2016 New Years’ Resolution a reality should visit www.stopsmokingwales.com or call 0800 0852219.