A councillor for South Gloucestershire is taking part in ‘Stoptober’ this month as part of a campaign by Public Health England to promote health.

Councillor Erica Williams, the cabinet member for housing delivery and public health at SGC is giving up cigarettes as she looks to quit smoking for good.

In her role as part of the cabinet, it is Cllr Williams’ responsibility to promote positive health choices so she is looking to take part in the scheme to try and improve her own.

When speaking about the month ahead, she explained that there were times before when she almost kicked the habit for good.

“The main reason I wanted to be involved in Stoptober is that with my new portfolio for public health,” she said.

“I want to be seen to lead the way and hopefully motivate others to quit.

“I can then speak from a position of personal experience, showing that whilst hard, it is possible to give up for good.

“I’m getting sponsored to give up, raising money for the Lullaby Trust, and the money that I’ll save not buying cigarettes in the future can be spent on my family.

“I didn’t smoke at all during the pregnancies for my children and I did manage to quit for a year once before.

“I then slipped back into the habit. What’s different this time is that I really want to quit and I’ll have a great deal of help behind me.

Six out of every ten smokers in England want to quit, so this year, Stoptober will offer a free Personal Quit Plan to help people get the right stop smoking support for them.

If you are a smoker, you can find out more information and tips to help you quit at southglosgov.uk/smokefree.