Give it up for Gary

The campaign was launched by the service after Gary Hough, who had come to the service to quit smoking, tragically lost his life through an aggressive form of cancer.

His legacy was that although it was too late for him, it isn’t too late for others, and since the initiative was started at the beginning of this year, 272 clients have been enlisted on to the stop smoking service.

On the results, Stop Smoking Service Manager Magdalena Przybyla, said: “It is great that we have been able to engage with so many people since the turn of the year as they look to give up smoking. To have as many clients as we have is an amazing achievement and our clients have worked particularly hard as they continue their journey to quit smoking.

“Gary’s story is such a heart-breaking one, but to see the effect it has had on the people of Luton is amazing and we cannot thank his family enough for lending their support to such a worthwhile cause. A lot of effort has gone in from everyone in the team at Live Well Luton, while we could not have done this without the support of many local services who have played their part.”

Live Well Luton could not have launched this campaign without the support from Gary’s family, who backed the campaign, while attending the Luton Town v Morecambe game on January 20, in his memory.

The service would like to thank pharmacists, GP surgeries, the Luton Clinical Commissioning Group, Luton Borough Council, Luton Town Football Club, Mears Housing Association and resoLUTiONS for their support throughout the campaign.

The free, healthy lifestyle service is designed to help people in Luton have a healthier and happier future, by supporting them to get active, lose weight or quit smoking.