My big week

Brenda Flannery , National Smokers' Quitline co-ordinator

Brenda Flannery, National Smokers' Quitline co-ordinator

Next Wednesday is Ash Wednesday and for many smokers, that means one thing - National No Smoking Day. Brenda Flannery expects this coming week to be the busiest of the year. "We have two really busy periods. The first is early January with new year's resolutions. This week it's a combination of things; Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent and National No Smoking Day. We expect a huge increase in the volume of calls and we will staff accordingly. We have radio and billboard ads for about two weeks in the lead up to Ash Wednesday and we are guaranteed an increase in calls when we have ads on."

Those who call the quitline are routed initially to a call centre. "We have trained advisers in the call centre who listen, go through the necessary preparations with each person, discuss the benefits of quitting and send out a leaflet. If the caller requires ongoing support, that will be handled by trained counsellors from the Irish Cancer Society."

Counsellors contact the caller every week for the first six weeks and then at intervals of three months, six months and one year. "Initially, we go through the preparation in more detail as it is really important. We encourage people to keep a smoking diary for a few days, the times and numbers of cigarettes smoked - this helps them to identify trends. We ask them to weigh up the pros and cons of giving up. We then talk to them about what they can do differently to break their routine.

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"We try to train people in what we call 'The Four Ds' - that is delay, drink water, distract, deep breaths. These are really useful techniques to combat cravings, physical sensations that only last three to five minutes. They pass." Approximately 33 per cent of callers to the quitline give up, but Flannery believes that statistics are not the only measure of success. "We are delighted to receive calls from anyone. A lot of callers have tried to quit before and are coming back to us, and that's fine. The important thing to remember is that every day without cigarettes is a good day."

Callsave 1850-201203, Monday to Sunday, 8am to 10pm. www.irishcancer.ie