The start of a new year is a great opportunity to support the nation’s 6 million smokers to make a quit attempt.

 

Smoking claims around 80,000 lives a year in the UK (or around 64,000 lives a year in England) and causes one in four of all cancer deaths in England and kills up to two-thirds of its long-term users.

 

We know most smokers want to quit but lack a plan to do so. Quitting without support (relying on willpower and going ‘cold turkey’) is the least effective way of quitting, but is how most quit attempts start…and then fail.

 

Key Messages

* Quitting smoking is the best thing you can do for your health

 

*It’s never too late to quit smoking. Even if you’ve tried quitting before, give it another go this New Year

 

*When you stop smoking, there are almost immediate improvements to your health

 

*There’s no need to go it alone – it’s much easier to stop smoking when you get the right support and there are lots of options to choose from.

 

*Getting free expert support from your local stop smoking service is proven to give you the best chance of quitting successfully. Some are now able to offer free vape starter kits too.

 

*NHS Better Health offers a range of free quitting support including the NHS Quit Smoking app, personal quit plan, 28-day email programme, local stop smoking service look-up tool, as well as advice on stop smoking aids including information on how vaping can help you quit smoking.

 

*The average smoker could save around £2,500 per year by quitting smoking.

 

Better Health has a range of content and tools to help smokers make a successful quit attempt, all of which can be accessed at http://www.nhs.uk/better-health/quit-smoking