Finding New Paths to a Smoke-Free Future

Smoking is bad for you. It can lead to various cancers, it ages you, it lowers your lung capacity so even minor physical activity can be a challenge, and it’s also bad for your bank balance, as over the years cigarettes have increased in price – from under £2 for a pack of 20 in the 1990s to over £15 for the same pack today!

There are more reasons to quit smoking than there are reasons to carry on, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. Smoke Free Lancashire has been running for a while now – we first mentioned it a few columns back – with seven hubs across Lancaster and Morecambe at Skerton Community Centre, Stanleys Community Centre, Bay Veterans Association, Positive Futures, Marsh Community Centre, St Chad’s Church Hall, and The Cornerstone.

All of the hubs have different offers, different interventions, different ways of supporting people to quit the cigs, and all of them can support people with social activities, peer support, and alternative tobacco products. One of the latest additions to the ways in which people can get more out of life while working towards ending a bad habit is with a partnership with Wildlife Wellbeing Walks.

“It gives people access to a distraction technique, mindful engagement and connection with nature,” says Ros Jones, the founder and managing director of Wildlife Wellbeing Walks.

Lancaster district is blessed with a diversity of outdoor spaces, from woodland to beaches, from parks to meadows, and Ros hopes that through these trips out, people can build themselves up to a point where nature isn’t just a background thing, something that happens around us without us really noticing it. And once you do notice it, it can really change the way you approach going out.

“It’s about slowing down, noticing, really seeing what’s going on around you. Shapes, colours, textures, sounds – restful attention for our minds,” explains Ros. And it’s that attention element that can really make a huge difference when it comes to kicking a habit or an addiction because it gives the mind something else to focus on.

If you want to give giving up a go, you can get along to any of the hubs mentioned, but the hubs with Bay Veterans Association and at Skerton Community Centre are especially open to new attendees at the moment. You can find out more about the campaign at www.smokefreelancashire.org.uk.