Why Stoptober?
- Over 160,000 people stopped smoking for 28 days last Stoptober (2012)
- To date, 141,893 people have joined Stoptober this year (2013)
- Smokers who give up for 4 weeks are 5 times more likely to give up smoking for good
Why Stop?
- Those who stop around the age of 30, reduce their risk of premature death by 97%
- Smoking is the biggest killer in the UK
- Half of all long-term smokers die from smoke-related disease
Why Stop Now?
- After 12 hours, heart-rate, blood pressure and oxygen levels return to normal
- After 24 hours carbon monoxide is removed and lungs start to clear and risk of heart attack decreases
- After 48 hours nicotine has left your body, nerve-endings start to re-grow and sense of taste and smell improves
Why Continue to Stop?
- After a year without smoking, your risk for heart disease is lowered to 50% compared to when you were still smoking
- After 5-15 years of being smoke-free, your risk of having a stroke is the same as someone who doesn’t smoke
- 10 years after quitting, your risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, oesophagus, bladder, kidney, and pancreas also decreases
Why EVERYONE Should Stop
- By the age of 15, around 20% of children are active smokers, based on cotinine levels in saliva
- Approximately 40% of smokers started smoking before the age of 16
- The risk of lung cancer increases by about 25% in non-smokers exposed to passive smoke
Why the country should stop
- Treating smoke-related diseases costs the NHS approximately £2.7 billion a year
- A 20-a-day smoker spends around £2,000 a year on smoking
- Reduced smoking in the UK has a net benefit of £1.7 billion a year
Convinced yet? Join Stoptober and give up smoking this October.
Resources
- http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/cancer-info/cancerstats/types/lung/smoking/lung-cancer-and-smoking-statistics#source53 (page now removed)
- http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/268000-pledge-to-quit-smoking-for-stoptober-8229016.html
- http://smokefree.nhs.uk/why-quit/timeline/ (page now removed)
- http://www.ash.org.uk/files/documents/ASH_95.pdf