Public Health England’s Stoptober campaign is set to return for its fourth year this October, after 260,000 smokers signed up in 2014. 

Stoptober aims to help thousands of smokers quit the habit for 28 days by providing free, specialist support. Research shows that smokers are four times more likely to quit successfully when using a combination of stop smoking medication and professional support than if they attempt it alone, and those who stop smoking for 28 days are five times more likely to stop smoking for good.

Stoptober starts on 1 October, coinciding with the introduction of new laws in England and Wales which will make it illegal to smoke in vehicles with someone under the age of 18 present. The campaign will be supported by a national advertising campaign and community-level engagement across England, with pharmacies, employers and local authorities all getting involved.

By signing up to the campaign, patients will receive personal guidance and quitting advice by text, email or via a smartphone app, as frequently as they want or need. They can also sign up for face-to-face support from a range of healthcare professionals to keep them on track.

Sam Preston, condition clinical lead at LloydsPharmacy, says: “We promoted the Stoptober campaign last year in all of our 1,350 stores throughout England and Wales. We encouraged them to run Stoptober event days with a focus area of the store and a dedicated team member to talk to customers and discuss the campaign with them.

“It’s true stopping smoking isn’t the most straightforward of topics to bring up with customers, but staff can ask simple, open questions like ‘do you or anyone in your family smoke?’ as a first step to get them to open up and engage. We’re not lecturing them about the dangers of smoking, but using Stoptober as an avenue to discussing quitting with them.”

Pharmacy teams play a vital role in finding the right method for each individual to quit and then offer expertise and face-to-face contact and support for them throughout their journey. Pharmacies can get involved by ordering the Stoptober toolkit, which includes posters, leaflets, balloons and badges, free of charge from 0300 123 1019. The order line is open Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, until 28 October 2015, or while stocks last.

Read more about smoking cessation in our feature on controlling the smoking epidemic.

“We’re not lecturing them about the dangers of smoking, but using Stoptober as an avenue to discussing quitting with them”