Granby joins smoking cessation programme

This summer, 10 of our employees attended a smoking cessation programme to increase their chances of quitting.

Vaping retailer Totally Wicked ran 4 support sessions at our headquarters in Blackburn, talking through different ways smokers could give up, sharing tips, techniques and other resources, and giving out free vaping starter kits and e-liquid.

Totally Wicked’s team are all qualified to provide quit smoking support by NCSCT (National Centre for Smoking Cessation Training). They’ve had years of experience in helping smokers and deliver a tailored programme that gives people the best chance to quit for good.

Health and well-being at work

Nicola Rogan, our Head of HR, liaised with Totally Wicked’s smoking Cessation Advisor Scarlett Moylan to deliver the sessions.

Nicola said: “Three months in, several of the attendees have quit completely and the others have cut down in the hope of still quitting. Totally Wicked have continued to follow up with support. This is great – even if just one person had given up, it would have been worth it.

“We’d wanted to run these sessions for a while – they align to our well-being policy – but lockdown stopped us. We wanted to make sure everyone could attend all four sessions. We definitely think it’s worth holding them again – stopping smoking is one of the best ways to improve your health.”

“Three months in, several of the attendees have quit completely and the others have cut down in the hope of still quitting. Totally Wicked have continued to follow up with support”

The volunteer attendees were a mix of permanent full-time staff and contracted staff (who work regularly with us as they are from our own bank of approved workers).

Totally Wicked said on its LinkedIn post about our sessions: “Smokers who receive the right support are three times more likely to quit successfully than those that go it alone, but accessing quit smoking support through a local stop smoking service or GP isn’t always easy around work and personal commitments.

“While the support we provide helps to improve people’s chances of quitting successfully, giving up smoking is never easy and we hope Granby’s successful quitters are as proud of themselves as we are!”

Success stories

Jay, one of those who has given up smoking after the sessions, added: “I would like to thank Scarlett for all her help. The support she has showed has helped me to give up smoking and I don’t think I would have managed to quit without her guidance – thank you so very much!”

Beki, another attendee, said: “The smoking cessation group which was provided by Totally Wicked has helped me to quit smoking after 16 years, they provided me with a free starter kit and support for 4 weeks. Scarlett provided practical support which means I am no longer a smoker and haven’t had a cigarette for 63 days. Thank you for your support!”

Photo by Marek Piwnick