Residents of Stonehouse and the surrounding area who would like 2012 to be the year they quit smoking, are being invited to a new cessation group in the town.
The group, to be held in South Lanarkshire Lifestyles at 2 Udstonmill Road, will run for six weeks and will offer wannabe quitters professional help and advice, peer support, and free nicotine replacement therapy.
NHS Lanarkshire stop smoking advisor Maureen Brown will host the class.
She said: "This is the time of year when many smokers make a vow to give up.
"We want to help them as much as possible succeed in their quit attempt which is why we’ve brought this group to Stonehouse."
She continued: "It’s been shown that quitters who go to groups are four times more likely to succeed as those who try to stop smoking on their own.
"Past participants have said it’s because they find the group acts as a great support network as everyone encourages each other to stay off cigarettes.
"As a group we also spend a lot of time discussing the things that trigger someone’s craving for a cigarette.
"For some it can be stress, for others it’s social, while it might be a routine someone’s got into over the years.
"Whatever the trigger is for you, the group discussions often help people to think differently about how they will react the next time they ‘automatically’ go to light up."
For many smokers, the first month is often the hardest to crack, however over the last three years almost 90,000 people across Scotland have done just that.
In Lanarkshire over 12,000 managed it.
Maureen added: "I would say to any Stonehouse smoker whose thinking of giving up, come along to the group.
"It really is worth a try.
"You’ve nothing to lose and everything to gain."
The Stonehouse smoking cessation group started on Thursday 12 January at 6pm and last for one hour at South Lanarkshire Lifestyles at 2 Udstonmill Road, ML9 3JL
There are still some places and Nicotine replacement therapy is provided free of charge.
For more information on smoking cessation call 08452 177 707 or text 81066 or visit: http://www.nhslanarkshire.org.uk/Services/StopSmoking/Pages/default.aspx