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Smokefree in 2014?

by Haddenham Webteam – 3rd January 2014
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A hard-hitting new national advertising campaign from Public Health England pulls no punches in showing the damage that toxins from smoking do to blood, lungs, heart and brain.

Every time you smoke, blood that's thick and dirty with toxins circulates through your body in seconds, which increase your chances of a heart attack or stroke. But as well as the smoking-related diseases you may be aware of, did you know that the toxins also affect the brain, leading to accelerated decline in memory and mental abilities in later life?

The new Smokefree ad campaign seeks to reveal these uncomfortable truths.

Buckinghamshire County Council is supporting the national campaign, and is encouraging the county's smokers to seize the opportunity and kick the habit. Although the campaign's hard-hitting message is challenging, there is hope.

"It's never too late to quit smoking," confirms Director of Public Health for Buckinghamshire, Dr. Jane O'Grady. "Quitting smoking at any time is good for your health and wellbeing. As soon as you stop smoking, the health risks associated with the habit begin to reduce.

"After six months the risk of heart attack, cancer and other smoking related diseases begins to fall. After ten years the risk of lung cancer falls to about half that of a smoker, with the risk of heart attack around the same as someone who has never smoked at all."

Although many smokers have successfully quit in recent years, smoking remains the largest cause of preventable ill health and premature death. Around 600 smokers die each year as a result of their habit in Bucks.

"We know the harm that smoking can cause to individuals and their families," says Patricia Birchley, Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing at Buckinghamshire County Council, "but we also know how we can help those who do smoke to make a positive change and quit.

"We have excellent smokefree support services in Buckinghamshire, and if smokers use these, they are four times more likely to quit than trying to do it alone. I'd like to appeal to smokers to get in touch with our local services and make 2014 the year that they act to stop their habit seriously damaging their health."

Contact the free Bucks smokefree support service by visiting the smokescape website, calling 0845 27 07 222 or emailing stopsmoking@buckshealthcare.nhs.uk.

Details of NHS support services are also available here

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