- No Smoking Day
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This article is about the United Kingdom day. For the Irish day, see National No Smoking Day. For the international day, see World No Tobacco Day.
No Smoking Day is an annual health awareness day in the United Kingdom that 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.
Each year, the campaign is promoted with a theme in the form of a short phrase. In 2010, this theme was "Break free", encouraging smokers to break free from the chains of cigarettes and quit on No Smoking Day. The visual, a pair of hands breaking a chain of cigarettes empowers smokers to quit the addiction and make a positive change. The 2011 theme is "Time to quit?".
Research conducted by GfK NOP following the 2009 campaign found that 1 in 10 smokers quit on No Smoking Day.
The campaign is run by a charity of the same name, which is based in London and has four full-time staff. It is funded by a coalition of governmental and voluntary sector organisations with an interest in health.
No Smoking Day's President is entrepreneur, TV personality, and anti-tobacco campaigner Duncan Bannatyne OBE. Bannatyne, an ex smoker who famously took on British American Tobacco at its AGM in April 2008, supports the charity by being the celebrity spokesperson for the campaign as well as encouraging the public and other celebrities to participate. Bannatyne, who has vowed to suspend his children's trust funds if he finds them smoking commented: "My views on smoking are well known. I feel that No Smoking Day is the perfect vehicle to push the smokefree message in a non judgemental way - I'm proud to be a supporter."
No Smoking Day's new Ambassador is Lemar, he commented: "This year's campaign message is 'Break Free'. If, by supporting No Smoking Day, I can help one person to break free from the chains of their smoking addiction, then I believe that my role as an Ambassador will have been worthwhile. I think that No Smoking Day is the perfect opportunity to provide hope and help to smokers who want to quit."
See also
External links
Categories:- Health awareness days
- Smoking
- Tobacco in the United Kingdom
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