Privacy Policy

The Stop Smoking Clinic

This Privacy Policy explains how The Stop Smoking Clinic collects, uses, stores, and protects your personal information.

The Stop Smoking Clinic is run by Michael Pengelly.

This policy applies when you visit this website, complete an enquiry form, contact The Stop Smoking Clinic, book an appointment, attend a session, use preparation materials, or otherwise communicate with us.

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully. By using this website or providing your personal information, you acknowledge how your information will be handled as described below.

Who we are

The Stop Smoking Clinic provides stop smoking support using hypnosis, NLP, relaxation, guided mental exercises, and practical change techniques.

The data controller is:

The Stop Smoking Clinic
Run by Michael Pengelly
Website: https://www.thestopsmokingclinic.co.uk
Email: info@thestopsmokingclinic.co.uk
Telephone: 0845 224 3078
Location: Bideford, and on occasions Barnstaple, North Devon

What personal information we collect

We may collect and process personal information that you provide directly to us, including:

your name
email address
telephone number
address or general location, where relevant
preferred appointment type, such as in-person or online
information included in enquiry forms or messages
information about your smoking or vaping habits
information about previous attempts to stop smoking
information about your reasons for wanting to stop smoking
relevant health, medical, medication, or mental health information you choose to provide
appointment details
payment information
communication records between you and The Stop Smoking Clinic

We only ask for information that is relevant to your enquiry, booking, suitability, session, payment, or ongoing support.

Special category data

Some information you provide may be classed as special category data under UK data protection law. This may include information about your health, medical history, mental health, medication, pregnancy, addiction, or other sensitive personal circumstances.

This information is treated with additional care and is only used where necessary to assess suitability, provide appropriate support, protect your wellbeing, meet professional obligations, or comply with legal requirements.

Where required, we rely on your explicit consent to process this type of information. You may withdraw consent, but this may affect whether we can provide services to you safely or appropriately.

How we collect your information

We may collect your information when you:

complete a website enquiry form
send an email
phone or text The Stop Smoking Clinic
communicate through social media or messaging platforms
book an appointment
make a payment
complete any pre-session information or suitability questions
attend a session
request follow-up support or a backup session

We may also collect basic technical information when you use the website, such as IP address, browser type, device type, pages visited, and how you interact with the site, depending on the website tools, cookies, and analytics in use.

Why we use your information

We use your personal information for the following purposes:

to respond to enquiries
to arrange appointments
to assess whether the Stop Smoking Programme may be suitable for you
to provide stop smoking support
to send preparation information or pre-session materials
to manage payments, deposits, staged payments, invoices, and receipts
to provide follow-up support or manage your free backup session where applicable
to keep appropriate session notes and records
to manage cancellations, rearrangements, and administration
to comply with legal, tax, insurance, safeguarding, and professional obligations
to improve the website and services
to respond to complaints or legal claims

Lawful bases for using your information

Under UK data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for using your personal information.

Depending on the circumstances, we may rely on one or more of the following lawful bases:

Contract: where processing is necessary to provide the service you have requested or to take steps before entering into a service agreement.
Consent: where you have given clear consent for us to process your information for a specific purpose.
Explicit consent: where we process special category data, such as health-related information, and explicit consent is required.
Legal obligation: where processing is necessary to comply with the law, such as tax, accounting, safeguarding, or legal requirements.
Legitimate interests: where processing is necessary for the legitimate operation of the business, provided your rights and interests do not override this.

Health and suitability information

We may ask for relevant health, medical, medication, or mental health information before providing services.

This is used to help assess whether hypnosis or the Stop Smoking Programme may be suitable for you and whether any additional precautions or referrals may be appropriate.

You are responsible for providing accurate and relevant information. If you do not provide important suitability information, this may affect the safety or appropriateness of the service.

Payments

If you make a payment, some payment-related information may be processed to manage deposits, staged payments, full payments, invoices, receipts, refunds where applicable, and accounting records.

Payments may be processed by third-party payment providers, banks, booking systems, or accounting platforms. These providers have their own privacy policies and security procedures.

The Stop Smoking Clinic does not store full card details on this website unless this is specifically provided by a secure third-party payment provider.

Email, phone and message communication

We may use your contact details to communicate with you about your enquiry, booking, preparation materials, payment, appointment, follow-up, backup session, or related administrative matters.

You are responsible for providing accurate contact details and checking your email, including your junk or spam folder.

Marketing

We will not add you to a marketing mailing list without your consent.

If you choose to subscribe to email updates or marketing communications, you can unsubscribe at any time by using the unsubscribe link in the email or by contacting us directly.

We will not sell your personal information to third parties for marketing purposes.

Testimonials and reviews

If you provide a testimonial or review, we will only publish it with your permission.

You can ask for your published testimonial to be removed by contacting The Stop Smoking Clinic.

We may edit testimonials for spelling, grammar, clarity, or length, but we will not knowingly change the meaning of what you have said.

Session notes and records

Brief notes may be kept about your enquiry, suitability, appointment, session, and any follow-up support.

These records are kept for professional, administrative, legal, insurance, and safeguarding purposes.

Records are stored securely and are only accessed where necessary.

Recordings

Sessions are not routinely recorded.

If a session is to be recorded for any reason, this will only be done with your knowledge and consent unless recording is required for legal or safety reasons.

Any recording will be stored securely and will not be shared without your consent, except where required by law.

Cookies and website analytics

This website may use cookies or similar technologies to help the website function, improve user experience, remember preferences, measure website traffic, or understand how visitors use the site.

Cookies are small files placed on your device when you visit a website.

Types of cookies that may be used include:

Essential cookies: needed for the website to function properly.
Analytics cookies: used to understand website traffic and visitor behaviour.
Functionality cookies: used to remember preferences or improve user experience.
Marketing cookies: used only if advertising or tracking tools are enabled.

You can usually control or delete cookies through your browser settings.

If this website uses analytics, advertising pixels, booking tools, embedded videos, maps, or third-party plugins, those providers may also set cookies or collect technical information according to their own privacy policies.

Who we share your information with

We do not sell your personal information.

Your information may be shared only where necessary with trusted third parties, such as:

website hosting providers
email service providers
booking or form software providers
payment processors
accountants or bookkeeping services
professional advisers
insurance providers
IT support providers
legal, regulatory, safeguarding, or law enforcement bodies where required

Where third-party providers are used, they are expected to handle your information securely and only for the purposes for which it is provided.

International transfers

Some third-party services, such as website platforms, email providers, booking systems, payment processors, analytics tools, or cloud storage providers, may process data outside the United Kingdom.

Where this happens, appropriate safeguards should be in place to protect your personal information in accordance with data protection law.

How long we keep your information

We keep personal information only for as long as necessary for the purposes set out in this policy.

Retention periods may vary depending on the type of information and the reason it is held.

As a general guide:

enquiry information may be kept for a reasonable period to manage communication and follow-up
client records may be kept for professional, insurance, safeguarding, or legal purposes
payment and accounting records may be kept for the period required by tax and accounting law
email communications may be kept where relevant to the service, booking, complaint, or legal record

When information is no longer needed, it will be securely deleted, destroyed, or anonymised where appropriate.

How we protect your information

We take reasonable steps to protect your personal information from loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction.

Security measures may include password protection, secure devices, restricted access, secure storage, reputable software providers, and appropriate administrative procedures.

No method of electronic transmission or storage is completely secure, but reasonable care is taken to protect your information.

Your rights

Under UK data protection law, you have rights in relation to your personal information.

Depending on the circumstances, these may include the right to:

be informed about how your information is used
access the personal information held about you
ask for inaccurate information to be corrected
ask for information to be deleted
ask for processing to be restricted
object to certain types of processing
withdraw consent where consent is the lawful basis
request transfer of your information where applicable
complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office

Some rights may not apply in all circumstances, and there may be legal or professional reasons why certain information must be retained.

How to make a data request

If you would like to access, correct, delete, restrict, or ask a question about your personal information, please contact The Stop Smoking Clinic using the contact details below.

You may be asked to confirm your identity before a request can be processed.

We aim to respond to valid data protection requests within the time required by law.

Complaints

If you are concerned about how your personal information has been handled, please contact The Stop Smoking Clinic first so the matter can be reviewed and, where possible, resolved.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office, also known as the ICO.

Information Commissioner’s Office
Website: ico.org.uk
Telephone: 0303 123 1113

Links to other websites

This website may contain links to other websites.

The Stop Smoking Clinic is not responsible for the privacy practices, content, or security of external websites. You should read the privacy policy of any external website you visit.

Children

The Stop Smoking Clinic is intended for adults.

If services are ever considered for someone under 18, this will require appropriate parental or guardian involvement and will be assessed on an individual basis.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy may be updated from time to time.

The latest version will be published on this website.

Last updated: Aug 10, 2026

Contact details

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how your personal information is handled, please contact: