We have teamed up with Nottinghamshire County Council to help Stags fans kick the habit as part of the national smoking quit attempt, Stoptober.
Mansfield has significantly higher levels of smokers than both the national and county average – 29.3% of adults in Mansfield smoke compared to an England average of 20% and 19.7% of people across Notts.
The collaboration kicks off this Saturday against Hartlepool United on Saturday 5 October and runs through the month.
Stoptober supports smokers to quit for the month of October and beyond, and offers help, advice and encouragement as part of a mass quit attempt. Last year more than 160,000 people took part in Stoptober nationally, and anyone can register at www.stoptober.smokefree.nhs.uk/.
Evidence shows that if you can quit for four weeks you are five times more likely to be able to give up for good. After stopping smoking for 28 days, people will have begun to notice health benefits and would save almost £200 on a 20-a-day habit.*
Chairman John Radford said: “We are a key part of the community and we take the health of our fans seriously, so we were very keen to get involved in Stoptober and encouraging Stags supporters to quit smoking. We all know the risks of smoking, but it can be very difficult to stop – anything we can do to help our fans in that process is fantastic.”
The partnership between Stoptober and Mansfield Town includes programme and pitch-side advertising, joint work with the club’s Football in the Community scheme, and local stop smoking advisors talking to fans as part of the home game against Hartlepool.
Jo Hopkin, Public Health Manager for Nottinghamshire County Council said: “Overall last year some 2,400 people in Mansfield and Ashfield kicked the habit with our local stop smoking services which was fantastic. We still have many more smokers than we would like in the area. We hope that Stoptober in general, and our partnership with Mansfield Town in particular can help us to help even more people quit, and help improve the health of local people.
“Stopping smoking is the most important thing anyone can do to improve their health, and by getting involved in Stoptober fans will have a much better chance of quitting successfully.
“As well as Stoptober, we have some great local services that can help people to stop smoking, with free, confidential support via their GP, local pharmacy or specialist service - New Leaf. Some of the New Leaf advisors will also be available at the game on 5 October.”
Fans can register for Stoptober by visiting https://stoptober.smokefree.nhs.uk/, or via links on the official Mansfield Town website or Facebook page. Visit www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/stoptober.
Smokers who want to quit can access support by popping in to their GP or local pharmacy, or by phoning New Leaf on 0800 389 7712 / texting ‘leaf’ free to 80800.
