No Smoking Day plans unveiled
The theme for No Smoking Day 2015 – Proud to be a Quitter – was unveiled at a special event organised by Cancer Focus Northern Ireland.
Nurses, doctors, midwives, stop smoking specialists and other health professionals attended the event to hear about plans for next year’s No Smoking Day, which will be held on 11th March 2015. The aim of No Smoking Day is to inspire smokers to quit.
Nearly one in four adults in Northern Ireland smoke, doubling their risk of heart attack and stroke. Smoking also causes one third of all cancer deaths here. The good news is that stopping smoking is the single best thing you can do for your health.
The keynote speaker was Professor Mark Lawler, Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology, Queen’s University Belfast, who stressed how important it is for smokers’ health to quit. He discussed the big issues surrounding smoking including e-cigarettes, lung cancer, standardised packaging of tobacco products and cigarette advertising.
Motivational expert Billy Dixon gave useful tips to help health workers inspire smokers to quit, and ex-smokers told the audience what worked for them.
No Smoking Day is jointly organised in Northern Ireland by Cancer Focus NI, British Heart Foundation and the Public Health Agency (PHA).
To help local smokers quit, Cancer Focus NI operates a NI Smokers’ Helpline on 0808 812 8008, funded by the PHA, and holds stop smoking clinics in GP surgeries, workplaces and community settings.
You can also visit www.want2stop.info where you can search for your local stop smoking service, order a Quit Kit free of charge or take part in an online chat with a stop smoking specialist.
To get involved in No Smoking Day 2015 or to receive information and support on stopping smoking visit nosmokingday.org.uk.
Pictured (l-r): Cancer Focus NI stop smoking specialists Doreen Regan and Bernie Neeson with ex-smoker Gavin Boyd, from the Rainbow Project
