Young people hit back at tobacco industry negative practices with first ever film campaign

December 30, 2009 Tags:
in Events, Whats Happening |

Young people have hit back with a new film campaign to highlight the negative practices of the tobacco industry at a red carpet launch event at The Cornerhouse Cinema in Manchester this evening.

Mike Cockayne (film producer director) Darren Jeffries, Mo Iqbal (winner), Michael Burlison (winner), & Matt Littler arriving at the Premiere

Mike Cockayne (film producer director) Darren Jeffries, Mo Iqbal (winner), Michael Burlison (winner), & Matt Littler arriving at the premiere

Three students from the North West are the first in the UK to tackle these issues using short films they have created with the help of Hollyoaks’ creator Phil Redmond and former Hollyoaks actors.

Students, Mo Iqbal, 18, Michael Burlison, 18  and Joe Washington, 15 were the star guests at the premiere of their own films, as winners of the Smokefree North West Smoke & Mirrors short film competition. Hundreds of young people from across the region took part in the campaign to help protect future generations from exposure to tobacco.

The three winning films, ‘TRD’ (Tobacco Related Deaths), ‘The Machine’ and ‘Don’t Fall For It,’ were screened for the very first time at The Cornerhouse Cinema in Manchester and have been produced as 90 second viral films.
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Free NHS quit smoking kits from your NW Asdas

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in Whats Happening |

Selected Asda stores from across the North West are providing 500 free Quit Kits to help people stop smoking in the New Year. The initiative is part of the Department of Health’s New Year quit campaign called ‘Right Tools For The Job’ launched today with new research that shows almost half of smokers (44%) in England have resolved to quit in 2010.

 When asked what would help smokers to quit:

  • more than half (54%) of smokers wanted help to manage cravings
  • one third of smokers wanted tools and advice to strengthen willpower
  • nearly a third (32%) simply want something to do with their hands
  • nicotine gum and patches were the most popular aids to quitting, with 42% of smokers planning on using a Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) such as gum or patches this new year

The new free Quit Kit contains tools that that have either been scientifically proven to help reduce cravings or have been developed in response to smokers’ needs. These include details of Lancashire Stop Smoking Services, where people can access stop smoking medicines and nicotine replacement treatments. Other useful tools include a ‘health & wealth’ wheel to calculate how much money you are saving, a progress chart, a podcast that helps reduce cravings and a number of distraction tools.

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New tobacco legislation receives royal assent

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in Whats Happening |

A landmark in public health history was reached yesterday as new measures to protect children and young people from the harmful effects of tobacco became law. 

Receiving Royal Assent through the House of Lords were measures to remove cigarettes and tobacco from display at the point of sale and to remove all cigarette vending machines.

The new tobacco legislation will come into effect for large retailers in 2011 and small retailers in 2013. Health campaigners across the North West are celebrating the news and congratulating those MPs who voted in favour of the Health Bill 2009 last month and the new measures to help prevent children and young people taking up smoking.

Regulations about how to implement these new measures will now need to be agreed by Parliament in the New Year. With 80% of smokers starting before the age of 19, 10% of young people in the region admitting to regularly buying cigarettes from vending machines and 46% of UK teens aware of tobacco point of sale marketing, the new legislation can only help to reduce illness and early death from smoking related diseases.  

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Blackpool stop smoking advisor receives plethora of praise

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in Partner news, Whats Happening |

Jane Roberts collecting the Outstanding Contribution Award

Jane Roberts collecting the Outstanding Contribution Award

An inspirational NHS worker who built up Blackpool Stop Smoking Service from scratch has received a hat trick of commendations in just a matter of days.

Jane Roberts, from Blackpool Stop Smoking Service, received an Outstanding Contribution award from Smokefree North West at a ceremony in Manchester. She was then whisked to London to attend a celebration event at the House of Commons to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of Stop Smoking Services across the country, before learning she had received a further award from the influential Health Service Journal.

During her 15 years with the service, Jane has helped save the lives of thousands of smokers by campaigning to push through a range of innovative measures to encourage them to quit. Due to her hard work and perseverance, nicotine replacement therapies were available to smokers in Blackpool on NHS prescription four years before the rest of the country.

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Dedicated Sefton stop smoking advisors rewarded for years of hard work

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in Partner news, Whats Happening |

Claire MacKenzie collecting Stop Smoking Specialist Award

Claire MacKenzie collecting Stop Smoking Specialist Award

Two Sefton Stop Smoking Advisors who have helped save the lives of hundreds of smokers by encouraging them to quit smoking have been commended at a North West awards ceremony.

Carmel Fraser and Claire MacKenzie received their awards from Smokefree North West at City Inn, Manchester, to mark the 10 Year Anniversary of Stop Smoking Services in the region. Since their launch in 1999, North West Stop Smoking Services have collectively helped 371,693 people quit smoking.

Claire MacKenzie has worked for Sefton Stop Smoking Service since it began in 2001, and for the past 18 months has delivered smoking cessation interventions to prisoners in HMP Kennet, housed in Sefton.  Claire has worked hard to develop the service within the prison since it opened, and has developed peer support groups for prisoners trying to quite smoking, involving them in creating the posters displayed throughout the prison to advertise the service.

Claire was nominated by Collette Kearney, who said: “Claire is a joy to work with, never complains about her work load and, despite the demands of having a hectic family life with three young children, is always on hand to help out other team members, and she is an asset to the Stop Smoking Service.”

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