Advice on offer to help smokers quit the habit

Blackpool has the highest rate of smoking in England, with around 25 per cent of the population addicted, but health mentors from Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust hope to reduce that number.

They provided information about local stop smoking services and heart health on the mezzanine at Blackpool Victoria Hospital from 11am to 2pm yesterday.

Smokefreelife Blackpool, a service commissioned by the council, was also at Pets At Home on Squires Gate from 9am until 5pm. Around 350 people from the town die early every year because of their habit, it was estimated.

A spokesman for the trust said: “Even though more than a quarter of the adult population of Blackpool smokes, this is an improvement on previous years. Over the course of four years, between 2010 and 2014, there has been a two-and-a-half per cent reduction in the numbers of smokers in Blackpool.

“That equates to around 2,900 less people smoking.

“There are still more than 30,000 smokers in the town and as a healthcare provider we can make a big contribution to reducing this number by providing information and support to staff, patients and visitors.”

Jill Penn, from Smokefreelife Blackpool, said: “This year we’re focusing on the effects on pets of their owners’ secondary smoke.

“Dogs can get nasal cancer and small pets can be very badly affected.”