HEALTH bosses have been helping students to stub out their cigarettes by running free stop smoking groups.
North Tyneside Primary Care Trust (PCT) ran the sessions at John Spence Community High School, North Shields.
The groups were managed by health staff from North Tyneside PCT and teachers.
A course of six sessions focused on group support and stu
dents sharing their experiences with one another.
Factual information was provided by health visitors and included advice and support, coping with withdrawal, the effects cigarettes have on health and nicotine addiction.
Dawn Charlton, a public health nurse from North Tyneside PCT, said: "It is great to see that young people are wanting to stop smoking and that the promotion of health messages is getting through.
"The real effects of smoking are that it ages your skin, gives you bad breath, costs a small fortune and increases your chances of heart disease, stroke and cancer.
"It is anticipated that the sessions will lead to the development of more sessions in other schools within North Tyneside."
John Spence Community High School is working towards a gold standard smoke-free school award and the stop smoking groups are part of this programme.
The awards are given out by local health promotion staff to schools whose sites are entirely smoke free and who actively promote non-smoking whenever possible.
