Free support to stop smoking this No Smoking Day

Stopping smoking at any time has considerable health benefits

The Greater Manchester Health & Social Care Partnership is encouraging smokers to get free quit support this national No Smoking Day (Wednesday 9 March) as it launches its Never Quit Quitting campaign.

The plea is backed by NHS doctors and nurses who see first-hand the devastating impact smoking has on people’s lives, as around 24,000 hospital admissions each year in Greater Manchester are smoking-related.  

Dr Matt Evison, clinical lead for Greater Manchester’s tobacco control programme Make Smoking History, said: “Smoking is unique in the destruction it causes to every single organ in the body. Every day I see patients who are living with terrible life-debilitating illnesses caused by smoking tobacco.

“But the good news is that the body starts to repair itself as soon as you stop smoking. Within as little as 24 to 48 hours after your last cigarette, the carbon monoxide that is poisoning your bloodstream will have left your body and your lungs will be clearing out mucus. More importantly, the longer you are smoke-free, the less you are at risk of having a heart attack or developing a serious illness like cancer or lung disease.”

On average, 1 in 4 patients in a hospital bed is a smoker and smokers also see their GP 35% more than non-smokers. Stopping smoking at any time has considerable health benefits, including for people with a pre-existing smoking-related disease.

Dr Evison continued: “Smoking is not a lifestyle choice but an addiction that needs treatment. Supporting smokers to quit is a key priority in the NHS and there are more ways to quit than ever before, from e-cigarettes and nicotine replacement therapy to stop smoking medication.

“People can ask their GP or local pharmacy for help to quit, and research shows that using free, personalised support from a dedicated NHS Stop Smoking Service means you are three times more likely to quit than with willpower alone.”

The Never Quit Quitting campaign is part of Greater Manchester’s ambition to make smoking history and help improve the health and wellbeing of the city region. The campaign first ran last summer and inspired three in four Greater Manchester smokers to take action to quit.

Andrea Crossfield, Making Smoking History Lead at Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership, said: “In Greater Manchester we’re committed to making smoking history. While record numbers of people are quitting successfully, we want to empower and support even more people. No Smoking Day is the perfect time to quit smoking when thousands of other people are stopping too.”

Visit www.makesmokinghistory.co.uk to get free access to the latest quitting aids, apps, information, one-to-one advice, and local support in Greater Manchester.