40,000 East Midland smokers said it was their time to quit

Almost 40,000 East Midland smokers said it was their time to quit smoking seven weeks ago on No Smoking Day (Wed 9 March 2011) according to a new research commissioned by the No Smoking Day charity.

In addition, 120,000 smokers in the East Midlands region made a positive step towards quitting on the Day, by planning their quit journey, looking for information on quitting, smoking less than usual, taking part in a No Smoking Day event or using the charity’s dedicated website for quitters – www.WeQuit.co.uk Latest results also show that nearly 400,000 women compared to 200,000 men made a quit attempt on the UK’s biggest stop smoking awareness campaign, this year asking smokers ‘Is it your time to quit?’. Amit Aggarwal, Chief Executive of the No Smoking Day charity said: “Congratulations to all those people in the East Midlands who managed to quit smoking on No Smoking Day (9 March). Stopping smoking is the single best thing you can do for your health. “This year, we saw double the number of women quitting compared to men, possibly because they get more involved in health campaigns – but guys you can do it too! “If you didn’t manage to stop then, try stopping today to feel good and save money – within a month of quitting you can save £190*! It’s never too late to take control - any day can be your No Smoking Day. There’s lots of free help and support including our WeQuit online hub and the NHS stop smoking services.” Hundreds of events took place across the UK on 9 March with many health professionals available to give help and support for those who wanted to stop smoking. No Smoking Day runs www.WeQuit.co.uk, an online hub for quitters to find out different ways to quit and to chat online with each other to gain support and advice. [Ends] *based on a 20-a-day smoker paying £6.30 per packet of 20 cigarettes. Notes to the editor 1. The survey was an omnibus survey conducted by GfK NOP. Total sample size was 4081 adults. Field work was undertaken between 10th March – 22nd March 2011. 2. No Smoking Day is a UK wide charity that runs the highly successful annual health campaign helping smokers who want to quit. Now in its 28th year, the campaign’s mission is to inspire as many smokers as possible to help them quit their addiction and take control of their health and looks. 3. Research shows you are four times as likely to succeed with help from NHS stop smoking services 4. Call 0800 434 6677 for free NHS advice and support 5. Of the 9 and half million smokers in the UK, 63% want to stop smoking 6. The WeQuit online hub www.WeQuit.co.uk is a dedicated website for those wanting to stop smoking. With information on how to stop, quit stories from successful quitters and a 24/7 forum with 26,000 quit buddies to support you through your quit journey.