Joe and Julie Stop Smoking is a new word-free picture book that supports people with a learning disability to give up smoking.
Books Beyond Words, the UK’s charity for empowering people with learning disabilities through accessible picture stories, launched Joe and Julie Stop Smoking at the Foundry, London SE11 5RR, on 17 October 2024.
There are approximately 1.5 million people in the UK who have a learning disability. A 2013 study into premature deaths found that, on average, women with learning disabilities die a staggering 20 years sooner than the general population, while men with learning disabilities die 13 years sooner. People with learning disabilities face significant health inequalities, with higher levels of unmet need and delays in access to diagnosis, investigations or specialist referrals.
Joe and Julie Stop Smoking is a word-free picture story designed to open conversations and understanding around the health risks of smoking, and how to quit, for people with learning disabilities. It was inspired by the story of a woman with a learning disability who had started smoking after being given a cigarette by a friend who would also smoke as they spent time together. She did not like smoking, or how it tasted or smelled, but nobody had ever spoken to her about giving up cigarettes. This book helps readers understand that smoking is bad for their health, how to stop, and what good things happen when they do. It will also help friends, family and healthcare workers to talk to people with learning disabilities about stopping smoking.
As the book has no words, instead using the shared language of pictures, it can also be helpful for people who do not speak English, or who have a cognitive impairment like dementia or an acquired brain injury. All Beyond Words books are co-created and extensively trialled with people with learning disabilities, to make sure the stories are relevant and easy to understand by a wide range of different people.
Beyond Words stories encourage people with and without learning disabilities to describe what they see in the pictures, telling the story in their own way, whilst drawing on their own experiences to explain what is happening. Increased understanding is empowering, enabling readers to contribute to decisions that affect their lives.
Lead author Dr Keri-Michèle Lodge said: “Health inequalities for people with learning disabilities already mean their lives are shortened – often needlessly. A lack of accessible information about how to keep healthy only makes it harder for people with learning disabilities to take care of themselves. Joe and Julie Stop Smoking provides an accessible, easy way for everyone to be able to open conversations about stopping smoking, even when they cannot read words – a vital part of closing the health gap.”
Dr Lodge, a Consultant in Learning Disability Psychiatry at Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, and co-authors Peter Marriott, a specialist in helping people stop smoking, and Anne Hunt, a nurse and researcher, worked together to create the picture story. It was illustrated by artist Belinda Evans. The project was overseen by series editor Professor Sheila the Baroness Hollins, Founder and Chair of Beyond Words.
Joe and Julie Stop Smoking is available in paperback (for £12.50) and ebook (for £4.95) versions from the charity’s website. Guidance on how to use word-free picture stories is included for anyone unfamiliar with their practical application.
Help support Beyond Words to continue making books by donating the cost of a pack of cigarettes via www.booksbeyondwords.co.uk/donate