No Smoking Day is 9 March 2011
03 March 2011
Today one in five people in the UK smokes - 63% want to quit. No Smoking Day (Wednesday 9 March 2011) aims to help them as with the right NHS support people are four times more likely to succeed in quitting.
On Wednesday 9 March events will be held across the UK organised by a variety of health
professionals and stop smoking services to reach smokers who wish to quit. No Smoking Day will also
continue to run its website for quitters www.wequit.co.uk, an online hub where people can find out about
help available, get tips and advice on how to succeed, and chat with other quitters and ex-smokers who
understand what they are facing.
In Northern Ireland
- One* in four people smoke
- 24%* of the population are smokers and 18% of the population are ex-smokers
- 63% of smokers in Great Britain want to give up
- 15% of smokers have their first cigarette within five minutes of waking up
* Figures from Central Survey Unit 2009-2010
Health - benefits to quitting smoking
- 20 minutes after quitting your blood pressure and pulse return to normal
- 48 hours - no nicotine is left in your body. Your senses of taste and smell are greatly improved.
- 72 hours - your breathing becomes easier and your energy levels increase
- 2-12 weeks after quitting smoking your circulation improves and exercise can be easier
- 3-9 months - any coughs, wheezing and breathing problems improve
- Within five years the risk of heart attack is halved
- Within 10 years the risk of lung cancer is halved and the risk of heart attack is at the same level as
non-smokers
- Medium to long term - stopping smoking at any age increases your life expectancy, provided you
stop before the onset of serious disease. Even if you have developed a disease, you can benefit
from stopping as your body will be under less strain and be able to fight it more easily.
Wealth - The financial benefits of stopping soon add up too. After:
- 1 day: £6.30 = a movie rental or a few magazines
- 1 week: £44.10 = facial, a cheap flight or DVDs, paintballing, a day at the races
- 1 month: £189 = a shopping spree or premiership football tickets
- 3 months: £567 = holiday or a new laptop, flat screen TV
- 6 months: £1,134 = football season ticket, a family holiday or a home cinema, top of the range
bicycle
- 1 year: £2,299 = a new kitchen, a second hand car or a luxury leather suite
*Please note that these figures are based on a 20-a-day smoker paying £6.30 per packet of 20 cigarettes.
To download No Smoking Day's factsheet please click here
For further information please contact:
NI Helpline (run by Ulster Cancer Foundation funded by the Public Health Agency)
Telephone: 0808 812 8008
