No Smoking Day 2022
No Smoking Day is an annual health awareness day in the UK, which is intended to help smokers who want to quit smoking. The first No Smoking Day was on Ash Wednesday in 1984, and it now takes place on the second Wednesday in March.
Quitting smoking can bring benefits to almost anyone at any age, as it allows your body to begin to recover. Stopping can also save you money, and reduce stress and anxiety within weeks.
Smoking causes 16 types of cancer, heart disease, dementia, stroke and COPD, and makes us more vulnerable to infectious diseases such as COVID and flu.
Many people try to quite smoking with willpower alone, but it is much easier to go smoke-free with the right help and support. There are lots of support options available, such as Nicotine Replacement or switching to vaping, which reduces some of the stress and anxiety that cravings can cause. Your pharmacist or local stop smoking service can advise on the best quitting aids to help you.
Stopping smoking can reduce stress and improve mental health, with benefits seen after just six weeks, something which is sure to motivate many to quit after a dreadful year in which worry levels have increased massively.
The cost of living is a worry for everyone, but quitting smoking can save you massively:
- One weeks savings – around £36
- Two weeks savings – around £72
- Three weeks savings – around £109 (which would pay for a family food shop)
- Four weeks savings – around £144 (which would buy a premium Netflix subscription for a year)
- Six months savings – around £949 (this could buy two children’s bikes and two adults’ bikes to help you get fit and active as a family
- One years savings – around £1899 (this could be a deposit on a new car, or a trip away)
There are free local Stop Smoking Services near you which can help you develop a plan to help you stop. With their help, you’re 3x times as likely to quit for good.
If you feel like you would like some local support to help you quit smoking then there are local organisations who can help you to so this. If you live in Sunderland then your local service is Sunderland Stop Smoking Service and if you live in South Tyneside then it will be Change4Life South Tyneside who you will need to contact in your local area for support.
Find out how your body recovers at Better Health – Quite Smoking
