Smokers encouraged to join first 'mass quit event'

A national campaign urging smokers to quit for a month was today launched by the Government.

Britain's eight million smokers will be encouraged to kick the habit for 28 days from October 1 as part of Stoptober, the Department of Health announced.

England's Chief Medical Officer Professor Dame Sally Davies said it was the first time that the Government had launched a "mass quit attempt".

The initiative, backed by Cancer Research UK and British Heart Foundation, will involve television and radio adverts, a daily messaging service and roadshows around the country.

Prof Davies said: "Smoking is still the biggest cause of premature death in England, taking more than 100,000 lives in the UK every year.

"This is the first time that we have launched a mass quit attempt like Stoptober and would encourage people who want to quit to get involved."

Those who stop smoking for 28 days are five times more likely to stay smoke-free, according to research.

Jean King, Cancer Research UK's director of tobacco control, said: "Smoking accounts for one in four cancer deaths and nearly a fifth of all cancer cases so it's vital that work continues to support smokers to quit.

"Breaking the addiction is difficult so new and innovative campaigns such as this are hugely important."

Maureen Talbot, Senior Cardiac Nurse at the British Heart Foundation, added: "Stopping smoking is the single best thing you can do for your own health as well as those you love and live with.

"About two thirds of smokers say they want to quit, so Stoptober provides a great opportunity to join thousands of people in the same situation and ditch the cigarettes for good."

Health minister Norman Lamb, who revealed he quit smoking last week, said the cost of the campaign was about "a couple of million" pounds.

He told BBC Breakfast: "It costs the NHS over £2.7 billion a year, over 1,200 people admitted to hospital every day as a result of smoking, so this is an enormous killer.

"With the number of lives that are lost, and the number of families that are destroyed as a result of that, surely to commit a bit of resource to a campaign that could result in saving lives is worthwhile."