The 40th anniversary of No Smoking Day, a time for us to unite and offer encouragement and support to those on their quitting journey, is swiftly approaching on 13 March.
There are over 5.3 million adults in England who still smoke, and smoking remains the single largest preventable cause of death in England. In fact, up to two in three smokers will die as a result of long-term smoking. Almost every minute of every day someone is admitted to hospital in England with a smoking-related disease and in 2022-23, there were an estimated 400,000 hospital admissions in England due to smoking and one in four hospital patients is a smoker.
Despite the clear health risks of smoking, it’s estimated that nearly 50 million cigarettes are smoked every day in England – around nine cigarettes a day per smoker. However, smoking rates have reduced considerably since the first year of No Smoking Day 40 years ago and this year’s No Smoking Day campaign aims to continue this pattern and encourage people to quit by offering free proven NHS resources and advice.
Giving up smoking is far from easy, but it’s one of the best things you can do to improve your health. It can help tremendously if you have the right support. In fact, you are 3 times more likely to quit for good if you access local stop smoking services. To assist you on your quest to quit, there’s also the NHS Quit Smoking app. The app allows you to track your progress (with the primary goal being to quit for at least 28 days) & receive support, encouragement and clinical advice 24/7.
Be part of the change and help build a smokefree generation. For free support to quit smoking, search smokefree.
