Inkfish backs quitters

Inkfish Call Centre in Brighton is supporting any of their staff who still smoke to give up ahead of the 1st July Ban if they want to. Not only has the company arranged for the NHS 'Stop Smoking' team to come in once a week but it will be within working hours so they don't have to take time off.

Operations Manager, Ben Dale-Gough, explains: "We've been non-smoking in the offices for years but we felt, with the ban coming, our remaining smokers would find nowhere to go - so we thought we'd help them to try to stop. 15 people have already taken up the challenge and will join the course, run by specialists from the NHS, who will help our people develop their own plan on how to quit and then keep off cigarettes for good." The course runs for seven weeks with a one-hour session each Thursday and Inkfish will pay the staff for the time off.

Agents Ivan Overton and Lisa MacNab will be among the would-be quitters. Ivan smokes about 15 cigarettes a day and wants to kick the habit after 20 years. "There are a number of reasons for me to give up, but most of all my health. I've wanted to give up but never quite got round to it, so it's really good to know the company is behind us on this," he says.

Lisa's still only 24 but has smoked for eight years. "I started to feel out of breath a bit more and I've tried to give up before but it hasn't worked. Being in a group gives me a lot more confidence to quit."

Ben hopes that all the quitters will succeed: "I wish them all the best - we always invest in our staff and if this helps them beat smoking before the ban it will be really worthwhile."

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