Stoptober: How walking can help you commit to quit this month
Every year, the national Stoptober campaign challenges people to give up smoking for October and feel the immediate improvements to their health. People with mental ill-health are more likely to smoke, and smoke heavily, than the general population. So this month, our SmokeFree Team is challenging staff and service users to commit to quitting. In this blog, our Tobacco Dependence Advisor Matthew O'Gorman shares how, in his experience, getting out for a walk can help people give up smoking.
Stoptober is all about starting a conversation with a smoker about their smoking habits. One way to do this is to take them out for a smoke free walk to get the conversation going. Sometimes smoking cessation support isn’t about the big interventions, it’s about the small conversations we have with patients. In years to come patients who didn’t want to engage may remember that conversation they had about stopping smoking, and it may inspire them to give up. Conversations we have now which may be dismissed, may in the future become relevant.
Walking with a patient in the grounds is different to meeting on the ward. They are often more relaxed and more open to conversation. This lends well to speaking about smoking and helping someone quit and cut down. Patients who come on the walks are encouraged to bring along their e-cigarette which is provided by the Trust. We discuss the benefits of vaping versus smoking and the benefits of cutting down or stopping smoking. The walk offers an ideal time to discuss these issues in an informal way, as well as get some exercise. In society walking is often seen as a way to get somewhere rather than a form of exercise, I feel it is a great form of exercise that is often overlooked. As well as smoking, we often discuss the benefits of walking, many of the patients who attend the walks have built a walk into their daily routine after attending. Doing exercise can inspire people to work towards a healthier lifestyle and stop or cut down on their smoking.
We are so lucky at Bethlem Royal Hospital to have such amazing grounds to explore, we are based in more than 200 acres of green space. Walking in the open countryside can bring us closer to nature. Many of our walks take us down past the football pitches to the open fields. It is so quiet in this part of the hospital; we often sit and listen to the birds (mainly the parakeets!) we have even seen a fox. In late summer the hedgerows are often full of blackberries.
We have also walked around the hospital buildings. There is a nice loop we often take patients on which takes us past many of the buildings in the hospital. The majority of patients who come on the walks have never explored the grounds and are shocked at how vast it is. We have also visited the walled garden which is a great spot to sit, relax and learn about all the different fruits and vegetables that are currently being grown
It’s been interesting to understand the different reasons why people attend. For some, it is to get smoking cessation advice in an informal setting, for others it is to walk in nature, while for some it is to get exercise or to engage in some peer support away from the ward. Whatever the reason people attend it helps improve their wellbeing and for many has given them an activity they can carry on with after they have been discharged.
This Stoptober I would urge any staff to take a smoker out for a walk and chat about their smoking, I truly believe the good that can come out of it is immeasurable.
Matthew O'Gorman, Tobacco Dependence Advisor
