IT’S the habit you’ve wanted to kick for years, but for some reason there’s just never a good time to stub out the cigs for good.

You’ve been having a stressful time at work, you’re caring for a sick relative or you just enjoy those five minutes outside to yourself — these are all factors that make quitting smoking so difficult.

But help is at hand at Bolton’s Stop Smoking Service, which is encouraging as many people as possible to sign up for the Stoptober campaign.

Comedian Paddy McGuinness is backing the push to get smokers to “no lighty” during October and experts say there is no better time to try and quit.

Research shows smokers are five times more likely to quit for good if they manage to stop for 28 days.

Fiona Ashton is the stop smoking lead for Bolton and says the key to quitting is getting professional support. The stop smoking service provides a one-to-one service for people as they try to quit and can prescribe medication to wean people away from the habit.

Mrs Ashton said: “We have a fantastic team of advisers here who can support people through the 28 days of Stoptober and we want as many smokers as possible to sign up in Bolton.

“We want to help people break free from the habit. Not only are people five times more likely to stop for good if they do it for 28 days, they are four times more likely to stop for good if they access support through our service.

“It is vital people take a holistic approach to quitting. Doing it alone with over-the-counter medication is very difficult. It’s vital to combine the medication with support to make those behavioural changes.

“Our stop smoking programmes can be tailored to the individual and their needs.”

More than 480 people die of lung cancer as a direct result of smoking every year in Bolton and that does not include deaths due to smoking-related diseases.

As well as causing 90 per cent of lung cancer cases, it can cause cancer in the mouth, throat, oesophagus, bladder, kidney, liver, stomach and pancreas.

It also damages the heart and blood circulation, which increases the risk of heart disease, heart attacks and stroke as well as damage to arteries and veins.

For people who have existing health problems, such as diabetes, the effects can be even more disastrous.

Mrs Ashton added: “Smoking increases the carbon monoxide levels in your blood, which affects your skin, your teeth and, if you’re pregnant, lowers birth weight.

“It also makes the blood very sticky, which for diabetics is a disaster. Their blood is already sticky, meaning smoking dramatically increases the chances of having a stroke.”

Cigarettes contain more than 4,200 chemicals and more than 50 of those are carcinogenic.

Yet it is the nicotine in cigarettes that makes them so addictive — even more addictive than Class A drugs such as heroin, some research suggests.

Nicotine alters the balance of chemicals in the brain, altering a smoker’s mood and concentration levels. Many smokers find that rush of nicotine to the brain enjoyable and adapt their behaviour to get that hit — such having a cigarette break at work.

However experts want to dispel the myth of smoking as a stress reliever.

Janice Biggar, a smoking cessation adviser at the Crompton Health Centre, said: “The biggest myth about smoking is that it relieves stress. It’s actually the nicotine craving that fuels the anxiety.”

The stop smoking service helps people as young as 12, as well as pregnant women.

Advisers can offer nicotine replacement therapy such as patches, gum, gelatine strips and sprays.

Non-nicotine therapies include drugs like Champix, which can help reduce the withdrawal symptoms when someone stops smoking.

What smoking advisers really want to see are people kicking the nicotine habit altogether and not replacing cigarettes with the electronic or vaporised versions.

Elizabeth Carr, who works as a stroke nurse and smoking cessation adviser, said: “The problem with E-cigarettes is that they often replace one addiction with another.

“It’s not breaking that addiction to nicotine. The good thing about accessing this service is the support people get here.

“There are lots of other people trying to quit at the same time and they will be going through the same thing as you. With a plan in place it seems much more manageable and the chances of success are much greater.” So, what benefits can people expect when they do quit?

In the short term it will improve their sense of taste and smell, lower the levels of carbon monoxide in the blood, ease breathing and lower blood pressure — not to mention saving money.

It also improves the appearance of teeth, skin and boosts fertility levels.

In the long term, quitting will reduce the risk of heart attacks, lung cancer and potentially increase how long you live.

For more information about Bolton’s stop smoking service, call: 01204 462345.

  • Are you signing up for Stoptober? Charlotte would love to hear from you. You can Tweet her @dobsonBN or email her at charlotte.dobson@nqnw.co.uk