Portsmouth’s iconic Spinnaker Tower lit up in the Wellbeing Service’s vibrant colours last night to mark the start of Stoptober and celebrate 10 years of the service helping residents lead healthier lives.

Portsmouth City Council’s Wellbeing Service, who aim to make Portsmouth smoke free by 2030* and have supported over 10,000 quit attempts to date, are encouraging people to quit smoking together this Stoptober with free drop-ins, specialist advice and support.

The Wellbeing Service run free stop smoking drop-ins from the following venues:

• Tesco Extra, Fratton, PO4 8FD on Mondays 1-3pm
• John Pound Centre, PO1 3HN on Tuesdays 9am-12pm
• John Jenkins Stadium, PO3 6LA on Wednesdays 4-7pm
• Paulsgrove Community Centre, PO6 4JB on Thursdays 4-7pm

No booking is required and adults living or working in PO1-PO6 are eligible. In addition to the drop-in sessions, the Wellbeing Service team will also be popping up across the city in a range of locations.

The Wellbeing Service offers weekly contact with a trained adviser, and can arrange nicotine-replacement therapy (NRT) products such as patches, gum, lozenges or stop smoking medication (available for a one-off prescription fee). Free vapes and liquids are also available (for age 18+ only). Support is offered both face to face and over the phone.

Glyn from Southsea said: “My son would always ask me when I was going to stop smoking. The Wellbeing Service has been extremely encouraging, and their support was convenient and worked around my everyday life. I was welcomed every week and, with the support I was given, I haven’t smoked since.  I feel really positive going forward.”

Gillian from Fratton added: “I wanted to stop due my health issues and for my family. My food now tastes better, I feel so much better in myself, and I can now spend more money on myself and my new granddaughter.”

According to the latest available data, smoking rates in Portsmouth are falling. In 2023, the national Annual Population Survey (APS) found that around 10.1% of Portsmouth adults (aged 18 years and over) were current smokers, a drop from 14.7% in 2022.

Evidence has shown that smokers are three times more likely to stop successfully with support from a local stop smoking service rather than by relying on willpower alone. And smokers who stop smoking for 28 days, are five times more likely to stop for good.

Details of all the Wellbeing Service’s drop-ins and pop-up locations are available at: wellbeingportsmouth.co.uk/Stoptober25 or by contacting the Wellbeing Service on 023 9229 4001.

The website also includes details of local pharmacies in Portsmouth offering stop smoking support.

For additional support during Stoptober, the NHS also offers a range of free quitting tools including the NHS Quit Smoking app, Facebook online communities, daily emails and SMS, and an online Personal Quit Plan.