Feel Good Suffolk turns three, and the stories speak for themselves

When Sophie from Ipswich decided to give up smoking, she didn’t expect to find a lifesaver. “This might sound cheesy,” she says, “but I feel like Holly probably saved my life.”

Holly is one of the expert advisors at Feel Good Suffolk, the county’s free healthy living service, which celebrates its third birthday this month. Sophie is far from alone.

Since launching in October 2023, the service has helped more than 3,800 people stub out the habit for good. That has helped push Suffolk’s smoking rate down to 8.5% of adults, from 10.5% the year before, so the county is now below the national average.

East Suffolk's cabinet member with responsibility for Community Health, sJan Candy (pictured right), says:

“As we wish Feel Good Suffolk a very happy third birthday, we’re delighted to see the numbers of people who have taken the positive steps to make changes to their health. It’s encouraging to see that in this short time the Feel Good Suffolk partnership is supporting our communities to live healthier and happier lives. We want to remind anyone who is looking for support that we have a fantastic team of advisors available at the end of the phone or out in our towns and villages who are ready to help people start their journey – whether it be quitting smoking, receiving support to lose weight or getting more active.”

Feel Good Suffolk also helps people get healthier in other ways. In three years, 1,901 people have achieved a clinically meaningful weight loss, and 2,721 have had help getting more active. The wellbeing walks, run with The Ramblers, have clocked up 32,200 attendances.

Demand keeps growing, with referrals up 22% on 2023/24.

“It’s never too late to make positive changes to your life,” says Strategic Manager Georgina Howe. “When you’re ready, we’re here to help.”

The support on offer includes one-to-one quit support, free Allen Carr seminars, a 12-week healthy weight programme and exercise referrals at local leisure centres. There are also more than 90 regular walks across the county.

You can refer yourself or go through your GP.