Students at Salford City College who smoke are being urged to take the first step in giving up cigarettes for good on No Smoking Day, which took place on Wednesday 9 March.
It is part of a special project in partnership with Salford Healthy Communities, which involves research on students’ smoking behaviours and provision of support to quit at Salford City College’s Eccles, Pendleton and Walkden Sixth Form Centres.
Over 200,000 young people (aged under 18) start smoking in the UK each year – which is almost 4,000 new smokers every week. Around half of these will go on to smoke in the longer term, and half of all long term smokers will die because of their smoking habits. The younger a person starts smoking, the more impact smoking has on someone’s long health and wellbeing.
Recent figures published by Public Health England show smoking rates in Greater Manchester are more than twice as high as they are in many parts on England. Salford has the fourth-highest smoking rate in the country with 24.4 per cent of people still lighting up.
This year’s No Smoking Day theme is ‘Proud to be a Quitter’. In life we’re told never to give up – but when it comes to smoking, being a ‘Quitter’ is a good thing.
Salford Healthy Communities, which is commissioned by Salford Council Public Health, will be at Pendleton Sixth Form Centre on No Smoking Day to support students in making a quit attempt – helping smokers make this the day they start to stop.
Adrian Smith, Assistant Director of Salford Healthy Communities said: “We understand that the majority of smokers want to stop smoking, but many find the task too daunting. No Smoking Day is the perfect opportunity to inspire smokers at Salford City College to quit for good.
“With support, smokers are more likely to succeed in their quit attempt. That is why our team, who are trained stop smoking advisers, will be out in force on No Smoking Day, providing support for smokers who would like to quit.”
John Spindler, CEO & Principal at Salford City College, said: “Here at the College, the wellbeing of our students is of the utmost importance, and we are therefore delighted to be involved in Salford Healthy Communities’ ‘No Smoking Day’ initiative. I hope that the visits from the stop smoking practitioners will have helped raise awareness amongst both students and staff of the fantastic support available, to help them to stop smoking and improve their health for the future.”
The annual No Smoking Day campaign is run by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) and encourages hundreds of thousands of smokers to make a quit attempt on No Smoking Day.
Dr Mike Knapton, Associate Medical Director at the BHF, said: “Giving up smoking is the single best thing you can do for your health, and that’s why the British Heart Foundation runs No Smoking Day. We’re encouraging smokers to mark Wednesday 9 March in their calendars, and take the first step towards a smoke-free life.”
