A woman from Hull is featuring in a new region-wide smoking campaign, Turn the Corner.
Amy Robinson started smoking when she was 12 but quit after seeing her mum go through kidney and lung cancer as a result of smoking. She is now urging the 37,200 smokers in Hull to give up too.
Shortly after she quit, Amy found out that she was pregnant – another reason to stay smokefree. Her partner Dec also quit smoking, meaning that their baby will be able to grow up in a smokefree environment.
Amy said: “Seeing my mum go through kidney and then lung cancer was horrible. I thought if she can stop smoking after 34 years then I can quit too. And then finding out I was pregnant was a big motivator to keep going and stay quit.
“I never thought Dec would quit too but the baby really gave him the push he needed. Smoking has had such an impact on my family’s life with my mum getting cancer from it that I don’t want my baby to be brought up around it. If my child was to start smoking at the age, I did I’d be horrified so I’m glad they’ll never see it as the norm now, we’ve both quit”.
Amy is joining her mum Wendy to encourage other smokers to quit as part of Turn the Corner. This new collaborative campaign is coordinated by the Centre for Excellence in conjunction with all 15 local authorities across Yorkshire and Humber, and Yorkshire Cancer Research.
The campaign, which launches this week, was filmed in the region and will run across TV, radio and social media – with a powerful message that every cigarette takes 20 minutes off your life.
Alison Patey, Director of Public Health at Hull City Council, said: “We know that when it comes to getting the message across about the harms of smoking, and the benefits of quitting, there is nothing more powerful than people’s lived experiences.
“Turn the Corner makes powerful use of the stories of a local family whose journey from being smokers to ex-smokers will be familiar to many. People are much more likely to become smokers if they have a parent who smokes, so Amy is really breaking the cycle and giving her own baby the best possible chance to never need to quit smoking.
“Anyone who wants to stop smoking should know they are not on their own. We have fantastic local services waiting to support you”.
Scott Crosby, Associate Director of the Centre for Excellence, said:“Everyone knows someone who has been affected by tobacco harm. Smoking is the biggest cause of preventable death and ill-health in Yorkshire and Humber. It’s a leading cause of health inequalities in the region and has a huge impact on people’s lives.
“Every cigarette steals on average 20 minutes of life – that’s why campaigns like ‘Turn the Corner’ are so important to raise awareness of the harm caused by tobacco. Wendy and Amy know first-hand the devastation that smoking has on your health and are a perfect example of how quitting can help you turn a corner.”
If you live in Yorkshire and Humber, you can get six months access to all features on the Smoke Free app for free, including nicotine replacement medication as part of the campaign, worth up to £300.
For completely free support to quit, contact SmokeFree Hull on 01482 977617, ‘SmokeFree Hull’, or visit: Yes To Quit – Helping Yorkshire & North Lincolnshire Quit Smoking.
Watch the Turn the Corner advert now: https://youtu.be/zqtdFishMEc
About the Campaign
The Turn the Corner mass media campaign is a collaborative piece of work across 15 local authorities across Humber and North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire including East Riding of Yorkshire, Hull, North East Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire, York, North Yorkshire, Kirklees, Wakefield, Leeds, Calderdale, Bradford, Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield, and has been coordinated by the Humber and North Yorkshire Centre for Excellence. The campaign runs from 8th April to 29th May across TV, radio, transport links, social media and online channels.
About Yorkshire Cancer Research
- Yorkshire Cancer Research has been funding cancer research and saving lives for 100 years.
- Since its foundation in 1925, the charity has united with researchers, cancer experts and people in Yorkshire to bring life-saving breakthroughs, discoveries and progress in cancer research to the region.
- Sadly, people in Yorkshire are more likely to have their lives cut short by cancer than almost anywhere else in England. As Yorkshire’s cancer charity, Yorkshire Cancer Research is dedicated to changing this.
- Yorkshire Cancer Research works in partnership with researchers, clinicians, the NHS, public health bodies and other charities to pioneer new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer in Yorkshire.
- For more information, please visit YorkshireCancerResearch.org.uk or, follow us on Facebook, X, LinkedIn or Instagram.
- For any media enquiries, please contact press@ycr.org.uk