No Smoking Day - Thousands of Smokers across Northern Ireland prepare to Quit

The Ulster Cancer Foundation (UCF) is helping local smokers take the leap and quit smoking on No Smoking Day, Wednesday 14th March.

Gerry McElwee, Head of Cancer Prevention at UCF, which co-ordinates No Smoking Day in Northern Ireland, said, “24% of adults in Northern Ireland smoke and research has shown that over two thirds of them would like to stop. No Smoking Day on Wednesday 14th March provides an excellent opportunity to do that.

 “Stopping smoking is the single most important step that smokers can take to enhance the length and quality of their lives.  Smoking accounts for 1/3 of all cancers - it kills 2,300 people annually, representing one in six deaths in Northern Ireland.  Smokers are 25 times more likely to get lung cancer, 2 to 3 times more likely to have a heart attack.  Half of all smokers will die prematurely due to smoking.

 No Smoking Day is an annual campaign, now part of the British Heart Foundation (BHF).  Jayne Murray, Public Affairs and Communications Manager at BHF Northern Ireland said, “We want to motivate smokers to quit together on No Smoking Day. The benefits of quitting are enormous and can start within minutes – just 20 minutes after your last cigarette your blood pressure and pulse return to normal. Quitting is better for your looks and your wallet too so if you smoke and want to quit, join us and take the leap.”

 On No Smoking Day, UCF will have an information stand at the Park Centre, Belfast from 10.30am onwards, where shoppers are encouraged to hand over their cigarettes in exchange for a free ‘Stop Smoking’ goodie pack and on-the-spot support and advice about how to quit successfully.  UCF will also be providing carbon monoxide testing. 

 Judith West, Cancer Prevention Officer with UCF said, “We’ll be on hand throughout the day to give shoppers advice and support.  The benefits of stopping smoking begin within hours and boost not just your health but your wallet too.  Someone who smokes 40 cigarettes a day can save a massive £25,367 over five years.”

 Orla Hillick from Belfast has just celebrated her first year without cigarettes. 

 Orla explains, “I’d been smoking from the age of 11 – everyone else was doing it and I just joined in.  I was smoking about 5 a day but as I got older this soon rose to 20 a day.  If I was out socialising I could easily get through 2 packs without really thinking about it.

 “I’d made a couple of half-hearted attempts at stopping smoking before but after a few months I started again.   Although I always hoped that one day I’d be a non-smoker, I just didn’t seem to have the willpower to stop.

 “Over the last couple of years though I became increasingly aware of my health and the damage I was doing to it because of my smoking.  I have three daughters and a gorgeous granddaughter Ava, and I realised that I wanted to see them grow up.  I wanted to have the energy to enjoy life with them – and not be out of breath just by walking up the stairs!

 “It wasn’t until I’d gone away for the weekend with my sister and a friend and they’d both given up smoking that I thought – this is it!  I smoked my last cigarette that morning – 20th February 2011.  When I got back from the weekend, I went to see my doctor and got patches to help me with my cravings.

 “Since then I haven’t had a single cigarette.  I sometimes crave one, but I know that in a couple of minutes that will pass and I’m so proud of finally being able to say that I don’t smoke any more.

 “I had to change my morning routine – breakfast used to be a cigarette and a coffee – now I make sure that I sit down and eat something.  I can’t believe how much better food tastes now!

 “I’d encourage anyone to give it a try.  There is so much help available and I feel 10 times better than ever before!”

 UCF’s top tips if you’d like to stop smoking on Wednesday 14th March:

 Call the local freephone Smokers’ Helpline on 0808 812 8008 and check out what it offers

 Talk to UCF, your GP, nurse, pharmacist or any health professional.  Get pharmacotherapies such as patches, gum or tablets.  This will quadruple your chances of stopping smoking.

 Consider joining one of UCF’s weekly stop smoking support services acrossNorthern Irelandwhich are funded by the Public Health Agency and are free and confidential. They are veryinformal and offer individual and group support

 Write down all the reasons you want to stop and stick it on the fridge to help you stay motivated

 Talk to your friends, family and workmates – support from them is essential – why not quit together and keep each other motivated?

 Health Benefits

The health benefits from giving up smoking begin within 20 minutes of stopping, and will greatly increase over the years.  After your last cigarette….

20 minutes – Blood pressure returns to normal.

24 hours – Carbon monoxide is eliminated from your body and your lungs start to clear out mucus.

48 hours – No nicotine is left in the body. Taste and smell improves.

72 hours – Breathing becomes easier and your energy levels will increase.

2-12 weeks – Circulation improves making walking and running easier.

3-9 months - Coughs and breathing problems improve as lung function improves by 10%.

5 years – Risk of heart attack falls to half that of a smoker.

10 years – Risk of lung cancer falls to half that of a smoker.

 Financial Benefits

Some of the things that a 20 a day smoker could do with the money they save from stopping:

 

Duration

Cost (approx)

Treat

1 day

£6.95

Rent a DVD or meet a friend for coffee

1 week

£48

Buy some CDs or a meal out

1 month

£208

Go on a shopping spree

3 months

£624

Go on holiday

6 months

£1,248

Redecorate part of your house

1 year

£2, 537

Buy a second hand car

 The Ulster Cancer Foundation (UCF) is Northern Ireland’s leading local cancer charity committed to tackling cancer by supporting cancer research, providing services for cancer patients and their families and by educating people on how they can reduce their risk of the disease. All the money raised on UCF’s behalf is spent in Northern Ireland, helping to support local people with cancer.  For further information please click on www.ulstercancer.org or join us on Facebook

 UCF’s Stop Smoking Clinics are held at the following venues:

 

Belfast Health and Social Care Trust

Ballyowen Health Centre, Monday, 2 - 6pm

Holywood Arches, Tuesday, 2 – 5pm

Grove Health and Wellbeing Centre, Tuesday, 5 – 8.30pm

Clifton StreetSurgery, Wednesday, 2 – 5.30pm

UlsterCancer Foundation,Eglantine Avenue, Wednesday, 7- 9pm

CarlisleHealth and Wellbeing Centre, Thursday 5.30 - 8pm

Shankill Health Centre, Friday, 10am - 6pm

Ligoniel Health Centre, Friday, 3.30 – 5.30pm

 

South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust

Regency Health Centre, Newtownards, Thursday, 1.30 – 4.30pm

Lough View Medical Centre, Kircubbin, Thursday, 2pm - 4pm

Woodbrooke Medical Centre,Stewartstown Road, Thursday, 2 - 5pm

Donaghadee Health Centre, Thursday, 2 – 6pm

BloomfieldSurgery, Friday, 1 - 4pm

 

UCF’s Tobacco Free NI is an online resource for those working in tobacco control and for individuals who wish to stop smoking.

 

  • No Smoking Day is now part of the British Heart Foundation. The annual health campaign, which is now in its 29th year, inspires and helps smokers who want to quit, and is supported by an alliance ofUK health bodies and charities. 

 

Smokers can visit www.WeQuit.co.uk, an online hub full of information and tips on how to quit. It also includes a forum where people can chat with more than 40,000 other quitters about the issues they face. (www.taketheleap.co.uk will route people to this site)

 BHF Northern Ireland is your heart charity, dedicated to saving lives through pioneering research, patient care, campaigning for change and by providing vital information. But we urgently need help. We rely on donations of time and money to continue our life-saving work. Because together we can beat heart disease. For more information visit bhf.org.uk/pressoffice

 

Last updated 11 years 11 months ago