Stoptober

Allerdale Borough Council is supporting the Public Health England ‘Stoptober’ campaign, which encourages smokers across the country to join in and give up their habit for a month. In Cumbria over 15% of both men and women over the age of 18 are smokers. This is higher than the national average for women, which is currently 13%. 

The Stoptober challenge is based on research which shows that smokers who make it to 28 days smokefree are five times more likely to quit for good. Since launching in 2012, Stoptober has driven over 1.7 million quit attempts and is the biggest mass participation quit attempt in the country. 
Any smoker can take part in Stoptober - stopping smoking is the best thing a smoker can do for their health. Six in 10 smokers in England want to quit, so this year, Stoptober is offering a free Personal Quit Plan to help people get the right stop smoking support for them – with options including face-to-face support, nicotine replacement therapies like patches, gum or inhalers, and e-cigarettes. 

Smokers are more likely to quit successfully with the right support. Using willpower is important, but to increase their chances of success, smokers will be recommended to use a combination of stop smoking support when they use the Personal Quit Plan. 

For more information on Stoptober, visit www.nhs.uk/oneyou/for-your-body/quit-smoking/stoptober. 

Baby Loss Awareness Week

Allerdale Borough Council is showing its support for Baby Loss Awareness Week, by lighting its main office in Workington blue and pink. The council was approached by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Baby Loss to participate in highlighting the cause, and the top floor of the building will be lit up at night from Wednesday 10 until Monday 15 October. 
Each year thousands of parents and families across the UK experience the devastation of child loss. The APPG was therefore founded to focus on relevant policies concerning baby loss to improve prevention, commissioning, clinical care and support for the bereaved parents. 
Civic buildings and landmarks across the UK will be illuminated at night to mark the national week and raise awareness of this important cause.

Cumbria Sports Awards

Now is the time to get your nomination submitted for the Cumbria Sports Awards. 

The prestigious annual event is organised by Active Cumbria and supported by United Utilities recognises the outstanding talents, commitment and successes of teams and individuals throughout Cumbria who are involved in sport. The awards also highlight the dedication and commitment of the vast number of volunteers, coaches, and others behind the scenes who make sport happen across the county. 

The event has attracted many high profile guest speakers over the years and this year Team GB Athlete, and World and European Medallist Jenny Meadows will be attending. Jenny, a former Olympian has been involved in athletics for over 20 years since joining her local athletics club at aged seven. Now an inspirational speaker, Jenny will share the highs and lows of her career as one of Britain’s leading female athletes in a question-and-answer session with event host BBC Radio Cumbria's Mike Zeller at the award ceremony on 30 November. 

The deadline for nominations is Friday 19 October. If you wish to make a nomination go to the Active Cumbria website: www.activecumbria.org . 

There are a number of award categories including: Active Workplace, Service to Sport, Sports Personality and Be Inspired. Other awards are for the best team, best performance, and an extra special achievement award. There are also awards for kids, coaches and sports people with disabilities.  

Allerdale Borough Council is sponsoring one of the Rising Star awards. 

Last year, the county’s top sporting honour of 'Cumbria Sports Personality of the Year' went to Nick Miller, who had a truly spectacular year, and is a three times British Champion. This year’s awards ceremony will be held at Low Wood Bay Hotel, Windermere.  

Canvass visits 

Canvass staff from Allerdale Borough Council will be visiting properties throughout the borough in coming weeks, to ensure the electoral register is as complete as possible.   

The council wrote to all households on the electoral register in the summer asking residents to check the details it held and notify them of any changes. Responses were received from over 70% of properties.   

Canvassers are now visiting all properties where a response has still not been received. If you do get a call, do ask for ID. All our staff will carry a badge with their name and our logo on it. If someone claims to be doing the canvass and they can’t show you any ID, please do report it to our electoral services team on 01900 702 550.