A WREXHAM man is one of over 2,000 people who quit smoking in North Wales thanks to a health board service. Data from Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board's (BCUHB) 'Help Me Quit' service showed specialist advisors helped a total of 2,077 people break free from tobacco between April 2023 and March 2024 – more in a single year than ever before. Now BCUHB are encouraging more people to take their first steps to stop this October, as they aim to tackle one of their priorities.
Smoking is still the leading cause of early death and preventable illness in Wales. Last week, figures from Public Health Wales revealed how more than one in 10 deaths of people aged over 35 in Wales is caused by smoking. But stopping smoking has major benefits for health and wellbeing within just a few hours, and can have important lifestyle benefits too.
AC/DC fan Ian Tomlinson, from Wrexham, had never been able to see his favourite band – but was able to make a rock pilgrimage to one of their gigs at Wembley Stadium this summer. Ian said he enjoyed the trip to the full after a boost in his energy levels and his back pocket after he quit earlier this year. He said: “We paid for tickets, we paid for the hotel, we paid for food, we paid for petrol down.
“The whole thing was an experience that I would never have ever had if I had still been smoking. “Not only did I get to go and see the concert, I could stand there with my wife and enjoy it. And she could enjoy me standing with her, rather than me having .