This year No Smoking Day is on 9 March, so why not make the most of the free expert advice and options available from our staff to support you to stop smoking.

Quit Your Way is the free NHS stop smoking service. Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) has trained and friendly advisors who can help kick start your journey to a smoke-free future. Giving up smoking is not something you have to do on your own. With the right support, it can increase your chance of quitting.

We encourage smokers who want help to quit to contact the Quit Your Way service. The service can provide one-to-one support including telephone and video support. You can call 0800 84 84 84 (Mon-Fri, 9am to 5pm) or go to NHS Inform.

A smoker from Glasgow who was helped by the service said: “As someone who has been a smoker from a young age I had tried to stop before in so many ways but I was never successful. After speaking to the nurse at my doctor’s surgery she gave me some details about the Quit Your Way service, and after a week or so of deciding whether I was definitely ready to quit I decided to get in contact.

“I was contacted in a couple of days by one of the advisors and we started my journey to quitting smoking. The advisor has been a constant support over the last few months. She would call me every week and make me feel at ease, even when I had a slip up she would never make me feel bad about it but encouraged me to keep at it by saying how far I had come. Without the support I received it is really likely I wouldn’t have managed to quit and would have slipped back into my old habit.

“Smoking for me wasn’t just a habit, it was a way of life. I would wake up and the first thing I wanted was a cigarette. If I was on a night out and had a couple of drinks I would need to have a cigarette. At times I didn’t even feel like a cigarette but out of boredom I would just have one, and I was constantly ill with sinus and chest infections and just always feeling run down. However, three months later I’m proud to say with the help of the advisor and the Quit Your Way service that I’m now smoke-free and I can’t even begin to describe how much better I feel for it. Thank you to all the staff that supported me. I would encourage anyone who is thinking of giving up to go for it – you have nothing to lose.”

Sharifa McKechnie, one of our HSCP’s Health Improvement staff said: “It was great to hear about this person’s journey. Staff really appreciate these kind words and feedback.”