Services offered by Peabody in partnership with Greenwich and Bexley councils’ public health teams mean all Thamesmead residents aged over 18 can access free one-to-one stop support.
Noreen Muwanga-Nanyonjo, from North Thamesmead, is among those who have stopped smoking with the help of Peabody’s Stop Smoking Advisor, Eromosele Eselebor.
She began smoking socially when out with friends, but found herself gradually buying her own packs and eventually smoking 10 cigarettes a day.
“I’ve been wanting to quit for quite some time. I wanted to start saving money,” explained Noreen. “The most important thing is accountability. You sign up and the support is there. It’s almost like a friend. Eromosele stays in touch and I can always send a message.”
After six successful weeks, Noreen wants others to follow her lead.
“Do it for yourself. It’s really difficult, but the support is there. Reach out,” she said. “If you’re serious and you really want to do it, this is the best route to go down.”
Eromosele is also doing his share of reaching out. He recalled the story of one man who passed by his stop smoking stand during a Stoptober event.
“He was walking by with a cigarette in his mouth,” recounted Eromosele. “He was like ‘I’ve tried everything, it doesn’t work.’ I said, ‘you haven’t tried with us, come try with us.’
“When we were packing up, he came back and signed up. At his second session, he came with a testimony that he saved so much money he was able to take his wife on a date!”
Another long-term smoker, David Ruglys, has saved hundreds of pounds since quitting with Eromosele’s help.
“It’s the best thing that I’ve done,” he revealed. “I’ve been smoking for 42 years. I was smoking 30 a day at least, sometimes up to 40.
“I decided to quit for my health and because my partner doesn’t smoke. But I had to be ready in my own mind. In three-and-a-half weeks, I’d already saved over £400 that I would have wasted on cigarettes.”
David has been using free vapes provided under the scheme to cut out cigarettes. He has now set himself a target of three months to stop using vapes.
If you would like free, one-to-one support to quit smoking, get in touch with Peabody's Stop Smoking Service.