Smokers crave quit helpline

THE number of calls to the National Smokers’ Quitline has soared in recent days as thousands try to kick the habit before the New Year.

The Quitline has received more than 300 calls per day since it was set up at the end of October. A spokesperson said the service has helped thousands of people already.

“It looks like people are preparing to give up in the new year, before the smoking ban is introduced.”

Callers can request an information booklet, or it can be downloaded from the Health Promotion Unit’s website. About 500,000 copies of the booklet have been printed, and it is available in hospitals, pharmacists and GPs.

The booklet points out that a craving for a cigarette lasts only three to five minutes, and after that the urge to smoke will pass.

The people who work on the phone lines have been trained as ‘smoking cessation advisors’ and are able to deal with everyday queries from people.

“We help each caller as an individual, because every smoker looks at smoking in a different way and smokes different amounts,” said one phone line worker.

Smokers who need more guidance can be put in touch with experienced councillors who will try to help them to quit.

Calls to the help-line have consistently increased since an advertising campaign for the service was launched.

“The calls always go up when the ads are running,” the spokesperson said.

The TV campaign which encourages people to quit is called “Every Cigarette is Doing You Damage”. It shows graphic images of the effects of smoking on the body and the ads have been aired on RTÉ, TV3 and Sky. Radio stations are also broadcasting information about the national ‘quit smoking’ help-line.

Health Minister Micheál Martin said the initiative was “the most comprehensive, hard-hitting and wide-ranging smoking cessation campaign ever undertaken”.