Blackpool stop smoking advisor receives plethora of praise

Jane Roberts collecting the Outstanding Contribution Award

An inspirational NHS worker who built up Blackpool Stop Smoking Service from scratch has received a hat trick of commendations in just a matter of days.

Jane Roberts, from Blackpool Stop Smoking Service, received an Outstanding Contribution award from Smokefree North West at a ceremony in Manchester. She was then whisked to London to attend a celebration event at the House of Commons to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of Stop Smoking Services across the country, before learning she had received a further award from the influential Health Service Journal.

During her 15 years with the service, Jane has helped save the lives of thousands of smokers by campaigning to push through a range of innovative measures to encourage them to quit. Due to her hard work and perseverance, nicotine replacement therapies were available to smokers in Blackpool on NHS prescription four years before the rest of the country.

Jane, who lives in Poulton-le-Fylde, has also commissioned Stop Smoking Services in dental surgeries, pharmacies and GP practices. The number of people accessing Blackpool Stop Smoking Service has risen as a result, because smokers in the town can be directly targeted and asked if they have considered quitting smoking with free NHS support when they attend routine dental and GP appointments.

Since their launch in 1999, North West Stop Smoking Services have collectively helped 371,693 people quit smoking. Rates of smoking within Blackpool remain high, emphasising the ongoing importance of Jane and her team’s work.

Bob Harbin, from Blackpool Primary Care Trust, nominated Jane for her award. He said: “Jane is still championing the need for tobacco control and Stop Smoking Services to be mainstreamed, she ensures no opportunity is missed. Her professional and personal skills have meant that often the strongest local advocates of tobacco control are those who were initially Jane’s strongest opponents.”

Chair of Smokefree North West Dr Janet Atherton, who presented the award, said: “It is important that we recognise and celebrate today that over the past 10 years more than one third of a million people have been helped to quit smoking by North West Stop Smoking Services.

“Jane has made a fantastic contribution to help people live longer and healthier lives. She deserves our thanks for that.”

People who want to quit smoking can contact Blackpool Stop Smoking Service on 0845 601 2186.