Smokers in Liverpool are being encouraged to quit smoking on National No Smoking Day.
No Smoking Day, held on the second Wednesday of March each year, is a campaign that encourages smokers to try and quit their habit. The charity Smokefree Liverpool is supporting the event to help people in the city quit.
Samantha O’Loughlin, Smokefree Liverpool’s regional health improvement manager, said: “Although No Smoking Day doesn’t have the same national coverage as previous years, any event that promotes quitting smoking is beneficial.
“In England, around 60 percent of smokers want to quit with only 10 precent intending to do so within three months and an even smaller amount actually then go on to make a quit attempt.
“Sometimes it just takes a day like No Smoking Day for one of those 60 percent of smokers to think, today is the day I am going to try to quit smoking.”
According to Cancer Research, 14 percent of adults in the UK smoke, which equates to 6.9 million people. The habit is also the reason behind 15 percent of all cancer diagnoses, making smoking the biggest cause of cancer in the country.
In Liverpool, the number of people diagnosed with lung cancer is notably higher than in most other parts of the country, with statistics showing 72 percent of lung cancer cases are brought on by smoking.
Liverpool nurse Marie O’Neill believes people who smoke should take advantage of No Smoking Day after witnessing what patients have had to deal with.
She said: “In the last 30 years, I’ve seen lots of patients with health problems which are directly linked to smoking.
“In work, we’ve had patients, and they are suffering from stress or anxiety they tend to think they can go out have a cigarette, and this is going to reduce their symptoms when actually they are really not aware that smoking actually increases the symptoms they have got and doesn’t make it any better at all.”
Miss O’Neill also suggests that trying new activities could help you quit to “try and get you away from the routine when you normally go out and have a cigarette.”
Smokefree Liverpool offer a free 12 week stop smoking programme to anyone who is wanting to quit smoking.
Miss O’Loughlin said: “With the ongoing pandemic all of our support is currently delivered via weekly telephone support with a range of products available to help manage cravings and make quitting easier.”
For help and support quitting smoking you can visit the Smokefree Liverpool website.
Listen to nurse Marie O’Neill who has seen first hand some of the health issues caused by smoking>>>