IF YOU'VE ever tried to stop smoking without success you will have experienced the frustration that accompanies not achieving this goal. Well, throughout October there’s a helping hand that may just help you get over the line and stub out the cigs for good – Stoptober.
Stopping smoking for 28 days means you're five times more likely to stop for good and this year's 28-day mass quit event is to receive support and encouragement from well-known comedians including Bill Bailey and Al Murray. Messages of support and encouragement will even be sent straight to quitters’ phones and emails throughout October when you sign up.
Smoking causes the obvious unattractive problems such as bad breath and stained teeth and, annoyingly, damages your sense of taste. Prolonged smoking often causes the bone that supports teeth to die, leaving the teeth so loose that they literally fall out. It goes without saying that the most serious damage smoking causes is cancer. More than 93 per cent of mouth and throat cancers are caused by smoking.
On the brighter side, when you stop using tobacco, even after many years of use, you can greatly reduce your risk of developing head and neck cancer. Once you've been smoke free for 20 years, your risk of head and neck cancer is reduced to that of a non-smoker.
Bill Bailey is supporting Stoptober this year because he’s seen how hard it can be to quit first hand. His wife was a heavy smoker for many years before finally quitting. Following this personal experience, Bill is urging all smokers to quit during Stoptober, using distraction as a key driver to help them get through the 28 days smoke free.
And to stand an even better chance of quitting, smokers are encouraged to sign up with friends, family and colleagues, as evidence reveals that this type of ‘social quitting’ can dramatically improve your chances of successfully stopping.
Research shows that smokers are two-thirds (67 per cent) more likely to quit when their spouse stops smoking, and a third more likely to quit when a close friend (36 per cent) or someone they work with (34 per cent) stops.
- stoptober.smokefree.nhs.uk
