Welcome to our Newcastle Stop Smoking+ Service Christmas Newsletter, packed with useful tips and advice to help you through the festive period from your dedicated stop smoking team.
Service update - Project Manager Rachel
Following the pandemic, the service has adapted to new ways of working. We provide remote support and e-vouchers to service users for 12 weeks, which provides flexibility and ease. Face-to-face appointments is also available for those who prefer social interaction via our pharmacy network and our partner agency Healthworks.
There have been a lot of developments within Tobacco Control with the introduction of new NICE guidance and the NHS Long-Term Plan. We continue to work in partnership with the NHS and have several e-cigarette pilots underway which is very exciting.
In addition to our direct delivery, we continue to deliver our training programmes and attend health and wellbeing events. For Stoptober, we held stalls at both Newcastle’s Grainger Market and Civic Centre providing free support to local people. The events were a success, and we would like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who was involved.
With 2022 drawing to a close, we look forward to the festive celebrations and the traditionally busy period of New Year with people embarking on a quit attempt as part of their New Year resolutions. We want to wish you all a happy and healthy 2023!
Meet the team
Our Newcastle Stop Smoking+ Service team are here for you, we’re all passionate about helping our local community stop smoking and making you feel happier and healthier by achieving your quit goals.
We know it can be hard reaching out to a service, so read a little bit about our wonderful team to put you at ease.
Staying smokefree during Christmas
We know it’s hard to feel motivated at Christmas when you’re trying to stop smoking, but we’re here for you. Our stop smoking advisors have put together some handy tips to help you through the holidays and control those cravings!
Cost of living and smoking
With the cost of living and fuel and bills increasing, we could all do with a bit more money in our pockets this Christmas. Did you know that by stopping smoking you could save up to £124 a month? That’s a lot of Christmas presents and treats you could be buying!
Our partners at Fresh have calculated that if you smoke 10 cigarettes a day, paying £9 a pack, these are the following savings that you could make:
Breakdown of costs
- 1 week – £31 a week saved, or a family trip to the cinema
- 2 weeks - £62 after 2 weeks, to treat yourself to a new Christmas outfit/ an Xbox game or Netflix subscription
- 3 weeks - £93 savings – which could pay for a Christmas food shop
- 4 weeks - savings of £124 would buy you 4 months of a superfast broadband package including TV, a ticket for 4 to Flamingo land, or a family of 4 to the pantomime.
- 6 months - £821 saved, for a city break
- £1,642 saved in a year could buy a family day trip to Lapland in 2022.It could also more than pay for many families' annual power bill (EDF Energy estimates).
There’s always going to be a reason not to give up smoking, but there are even better reasons to give it a try! We understand that quitting can take a few attempts, but with the right support, you could be smokefree in up to 12 weeks and make huge savings for you and your family. Contact our friendly team for free support.
Recipes
Staying healthy and smokefree means more than just stopping smoking. Eating a healthy, balanced diet is an important part of maintaining good health and can help you feel at your best.
We’re all feeling the temperature drop, but this recipe will help keep you warm during the winter, your hands busy, and your cravings at bay – it’s packed with lots of healthy vitamins too!
Spiced root vegetable soup
Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- 2 sweet potatoes, chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 2 parsnips, chopped
- 1 red chilli, roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 75g dried green lentils
- 1.3l vegetable stock
- 425ml milk
- 100g low fat Greek yogurt
- 1 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped
Method
- Step 1 - Heat the olive oil in a large pan. Add the onions and fry for 5 mins until softened. Tip in the remaining vegetables and cook for another 5 mins, adding the chilli and cumin for the final 2 mins.
- Step 2 - Add the lentils and stock to the pan. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 25 mins until the vegetables are tender and the lentils are soft. Blitz until smooth with the milk and a little extra water or stock, if necessary. Season, then reheat until piping hot.
- Step 3 - Ladle into bowls and serve with a dollop of low-fat Greek yogurt and a sprinkle of chopped coriander.
Useful links
We understand the festive period can be hard for some people. For information, wellbeing advice and support, see the following links.
Get in touch
We’d love to hear from you!
The service is continuously adapting and developing, to make sure we’re providing the best service possible.
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