Robert Lloyd - a Sir Gar Blog of random news . . . and some Clecs!

Hywel Dda University Health Board is supporting those who choose to give up smoking this No Smoking Day (March 9th) and a number of local events are being held to provide support and information to those ready to take on the task: Pembrokeshire • 10am-12pm at Pembroke Dock Hub/ Library • 4pm-5pm at the Regency Hall, Saundersfoot. Llanelli • Tesco Pharmacy (a.m) • Well Pharmacy (p.m) Carmarthenshire • Morrisons Pharmacy (a.m) • Morgan’s Pharmacy, King Street (p.m) • Boots Pharmacy 1-3pm Ceredigion • Coleg Ceredigion – available to staff and students Smokers are four times more likely to quit if they have help. You can find all local services available to help you give up, here: http://www.wales.nhs.uk/sitesplus/862/page/77333

An exciting new initiative to help people quit smoking is about to open its doors across the Hywel Dda University Health Board area. The iQUIT service offers advice and support from local community pharmacies to help people stop smoking and improve the quality of their life. This scheme adds to the range of support already available so that those who want to give up smoking can all find the free service that is right for them. Whilst quitting is not always easy, the chances of successfully stopping are four times higher if smokers use a recognised behavioural support programme like iQUIT alongside nicotine replacement therapy. Teresa Owen, Director of Public Health for the University Health Board said: “Smoking remains Wales’ number one cause of avoidable early death and has a huge impact on people’s quality of life through its part in the development of chronic chest and heart conditions. Passive smoking also has a harmful effect on those people around smokers especially babies and...

Enforcement officers in Carmarthenshire are warning smokers to stub out their cigarettes wisely in a New Year blitz on smoking litter. Local businesses are also being urged to take action to stop smoking-related litter. The Environmental Protection Act (1990) gives powers to local authorities to take action against individuals and businesses who create litter, and to get areas cleaned up. Smokers who flout the law can be issued with an on-the-spot fixed penalty notice of £75, and if they fail to pay, they face a court appearance and a fine of up to £1,000. Executive board member for environmental and public protection Cllr Jim Jones said: “We have received a number of complaints about smoking-related litter in the town centres. “We are determined to improve the quality of the environment in Carmarthenshire for both residents and visitors and if that means fining people, then so be it. “It costs tax payers £2million a year to provide the service to clean the county’s streets, which is...

Stoptober is back and smokers across Wales are being encouraged to join the challenge today! Throughout September and October, Stop Smoking Wales will be offering support through the 28 day stop smoking challenge, Stoptober. The challenge is based on research which shows that if you can stop smoking for 28 days, you are five times more likely to stay quit. Members of Hywel Dda’s Public Health Team, Stop Smoking Wales and Hywel Dda University Health Board’s Smoking Cessation team will also be out and about in town centres in areas where there are a large number of smokers over the next few weeks. Caroline Nichols, Health Promotion Practitioner said: “We are looking forward to spreading the word about Stoptober and encourage anyone who may be considering quitting to come and see us. We’ll be available to talk to or if you would simply like more information about the Stoptober challenge or the free support available to you locally to help you quit please drop by!” The team will be on h...

Stop Smoking Wales, the free NHS smoking cessation support service, is looking for families and individuals to share how their lives have been affected by a life threatening or life limiting illness caused by smoking. A high profile marketing campaign, which will run from 8 September on TV, radio and print, will encourage some of the 21 per cent of smokers in Wales to quit with support from Stop Smoking Wales. Dr Julie Bishop, Consultant in Public Health for Public Health Wales, is leading the campaign. She said: “Research shows that one in every two smokers will die of a smoking related disease if they don’t quit. Sadly, most smokers underestimate this risk and don’t realise the harm they are doing to their life expectancy by smoking. “We know that one of the most powerful ways to motivate people to quit smoking is by hearing other people’s stories of the dangers of smoking and the devastating effects a smoking-related illness can have.” If you or your family would like to be involve...

Latest 'Healthy Wednesday' advice from the Hywel Dda University Health Board - This Healthy Wednesday – have you thought about the cost of smoking? This Healthy Wednesday we are asking smokers to think about the cost of smoking – not just to their health but also to their pocket! If you smoke just five cigarettes a day quitting for a year could save you over £600 and if you smoke 20 a day that figure rises to over £2,500! You can find out much you can save by using the special calculator at www.stopsmokingwales.com/smoking-calculator There are many reasons to quit and giving up smoking is the biggest single thing you can do to improve your health and you don’t need to do it alone! There is a lot of help and support out there and you are four times more likely to succeed using an NHS stop smoking service than if you try to quit alone. You can speak to a Health Information Adviser at NHS Direct Walesby calling 0845 46 47 or make an appointment with Stop Smoking Wales in your loc...

Smokers in Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire are being invited to stop smoking and start living with the help of free stop smoking support sessions. Stop Smoking Wales is an NHS service offering free, friendly support for smokers who want to quit. The service offers sessions at a variety of times during the day and early evening across these areas. Carol Owen, Principal Health Promotion Specialist for Stop Smoking Wales, said: “Stopping smoking can be a challenge, so we have made sure we have a number of different sessions available to residents in the Hywel Dda area who need support to give up smoking. “We hope that by holding sessions during the evenings as well as during the day, we will make it easier for people who want to give up smoking to come along at a time that fits around their other commitments. “Evidence shows that by getting help from Stop Smoking Wales, you are four times more likely to quit, so anyone who has decided it’s time to give up is encouraged to c...

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service Smokers are being warned that they must wake up to the deadly dangers of smoking - especially when tired - as Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service highlights that more than 40% of all deaths in fires in the home are caused by smoking materials. Smoking is the biggest killer in accidental fires in the home, often because of careless behaviour such as smoking in bed or not taking care after drinking alcohol. And when smokers fall asleep with a lit cigarette in hand, their proximity to the resulting fire seriously lowers their chance of escaping in time. Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service is reminding smokers to ´Put it Out, Right Out´ whenever they light up; to install smoke alarms on every level of the home; and, to test them regularly. Without a working smoke alarm you are four times more likely to die in an accidental fire in the home.

Hywel Dda Health Board | Consultation on tobacco plain packaging launched A UK-wide consultation on whether tobacco should be sold in standardised, or plain packaging, has been launched. The consultation will ask individuals whether they think standardised packaging will have an impact on people’s health and reduce the uptake of smoking. The consultation suggests for the first time what requirements for standardised packaging could consist of, including no branding, a uniform colour and a standard font and text for any writing on the pack.

BBC News - Welsh government targets smoking in cars when children present A campaign to stop people smoking in cars when children are travelling has been launched by the Welsh Government. Fresh Start aims to protect youngsters from the effects of second-hand smoke in a confined space. An outright ban will be considered depending on the success of the three-year campaign.

A crackdown on smoking-related litter in Carmarthenshire saw 13 people fined in just one day. The council’s environmental enforcement officers carried out targeted patrols in Llanelli, Ammanford and Carmarthen town centres. In total, seven fixed penalty notices for £75 were issued in Llanelli, two in Ammanford and four in Carmarthen. Failure to pay could result in prosecution in the magistrates court and a maximum fine of up to £2,500. Two young people under the age of 17 – one in Llanelli and one in Carmarthen - were also given warnings. It follows a council campaign to highlight the problem of smoking-related litter and encourage people to put their cigarette butts in the bin. Unfortunately, the message does not seem to be getting through. Director of Technical Services Richard Workman said: “We do not want to fine people, but we will not hesitate to do so if they continue to litter in this way. Many people do not think of cigarette ends as litter, but they are. They make an area loo...

A campaign against smoking-related litter has helped clean up Carmarthen. Carmarthenshire County Council, supported by Tidy Towns, is encouraging people to put their cigarette ends in the bin instead of littering the streets. They want to raise awareness of this type of litter which not only looks unsightly but is also very difficult and expensive to clean up as the ends fall into grates and cracks in the pavement which makes them almost impossible to remove by normal cleaning. Discarded cigarette ends make up the largest proportion of litter in Carmarthenshire with visible evidence of smoking-related litter found on 83 per cent of the streets inspected by Keep Wales Tidy. Council officers were in Carmarthen town centre giving out free pocket ashtrays and to warn people that if they are caught dropping a cigarette end in public they could be fined £75 or more if prosecuted in court. The council’s environmental enforcement officers regularly carry out patrols across the county. They can...

Smoking a cigarette in his cab has cost a Carmarthen taxi driver £200. James Cook, of Richmond Cottages, Richmond Terrace, Carmarthen, was convicted in his absence at Ammanford Magistrates Court of an offence under Section 7 of the Health Act, 2006. The court was told that at about 8.30am on Friday August 27 last year a licensing officer saw Cook driving a cab for Steve’s Taxis, Carmarthen, on Coracle Way, Carmarthen. Whilst Cook was stationary at the lights, he could clearly see him smoking a cigarette inside the vehicle. On the same day he served a Fixed Penalty Notice under the Health Act 2006 Section 7 (Offence of smoking in a smoke free place). Cook failed to pay the fixed penalty within 29 days of it being served, and was therefore prosecuted. The fixed penalty is for £50, however if paid within the first 15 days of the notice being served, this is discounted to £30. Cook was fined was fined £100 and ordered to pay £100 towards prosecution costs. Executive board member for public...

Carmarthenshire County Council has issued its first ticket for an offence of breaking a ban on smoking. A fixed penalty notice has been issued to a taxi driver who was found smoking in his cab while waiting for a customer in Lammas Street, Carmarthen. The local authority has the power to issue £50 fixed penalties under the Health Act 2006. The amount to be paid is reduced to £30 if it is paid promptly. Smoke-free legislation came into force in Wales on April 2, 2007. Council head of public protection Philip Davies said that officers from the council’s street scene section were investigating another problem in Lammas Street when they noticed a taxi driver smoking in his vehicle. “The matter was reported and resulted in a fixed penalty notice being issued to the person concerned. The fine was paid almost immediately, so he paid £30,” he said. Executive board member for housing and public protection Cllr Hugh Evans said: “This is the first time that a fixed penalty notice has been used to...