National No Smoking Day | FOS Media Students' Blog

“No smoking day” is an annual awareness day in the UK which first took place on Ash Wednesday in 1984. Then the date was changed to the second Wednesday of March. In 2024, smokers and supporters alike will unite in their mission to promote healthier, smoke-free lives on March 13th. The purpose of “No Smoking Day” is to campaign for grater awareness about the health issues associated with smoking. This day is dedicated to promoting the benefits of quitting smoking and offering support and resources to those who wish to give up the habit. Beyond individual health benefits, the day emphasizes the grater positive outcomes on families, communities, and the environment.

National No Smoking campaign is organized by the British Heart Foundation, whose members devise up with a marketing phrase every year. Each year, different themes are selected to represent the aim of the campaign and this year’s theme is: “Stopping smoking improves your brain health.” For example, in 2010, the motto was, “Break free!”. In that year, television ads showed smokers smashing cigarettes instead of smoking them. It is now a mix of voluntary and governmental sector organizations. When compiling the details, health warnings were appeared firstly on U.S. tobacco and cigarette packaging in 1960 and the first National No Smoking Day is recognized in Ireland in1984.

On this day, communities throughout the world gather to educate people about the risks associated with tobacco use, motivating smokers to discontinue the habit, and granting backing to those who are trying to live smoke-free lives. It is a worldwide cry to action that highlights the significance of putting health and well-being first and encourages to lower the prevalence of smoking-related disorders. Whether you’re a smoker working towards quitting, or someone endeavoring to lend a hand, here are ways to engage with National No Smoking Day:

Commit to Quit: If you’re a smoker, use this day as your entry point into cessation journey. Look for resources and backing to assist you on your target.
Spread Awareness: Share information about the dangers of smoking and the upsides of quitting.
Host or Attend Events: Participate in community workshops, seminars, or support groups centered around quitting smoking.
Engage in Social Media: Share personal stories of ceasing, offer words of encouragement, and use the official hashtags to broaden the conversation.
Offer Support: Encourage and stand by someone you know who’s trying to quit. Sometimes, a supportive friend can be a game changer.

The toxins in cigarettes such as carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide, lead, arsenic, nicotine, tar affect your body while you’re smoking and even after the cigarette is finished. The chemicals in cigarettes damage the structure of your blood vessels, including the arteries that carry oxygen rich blood to your heart and brain, increase cancer risk, cause serious health issues such as bronchitis, pneumonia, stroke, heart diseases etc.

According to an annual report from Philip Morris (2012), manufacturing costs of a pack of cigarettes are ridiculously low which costs the company 26 cents to manufacture one pack of Marlboro Gold. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company annual report (2013) shows that it costs them 23 cents to make one pack of Winslow Light cigarettes. However, due to heavy taxation and shipping and handling costs smokers pay significant surplus to feed their addiction. The cheapest pack of cigarettes can be bought in the state of Virginia which costs only $5.25 per pack. Assuming a smoker smokes one pack a day in one year’s time they are going to expend around $1,916.25. Over the course of 50 years, if a smoker stays on one pack of cigarettes per day, the cost climbs up to $95,812.5. That financial amount of money can buy a decent vacation home, a new electrical car, or pay for college education. Typically, smokers will pay more for their medical coverage. Due to the fact smoking causes a myriad of health issues and most of which are quite serious, insurance companies charge upscaled premiums to smokers. This is because insurance companies pay substantially more in health claims for smokers but also because they collect lowered revenue from them due to higher smoker mortality rates. Typically, smokers pay 15 – 20% more on their monthly premiums than non-smokers.

For example, if a non-smoker pays $200 per month, a smoker can expect to pay $240. Using the same calculation as we did for a pack of cigarettes, smokers will pay $24,000 more than non-smokers in insurance premiums over the course of 50 years. Of course, not everything is included in basic coverage and should smokers require treatment of serious conditions related to smoking, out of the pocket costs can number in tens of thousands of dollars.

The World Health Organization states tobacco results in fatalities of up to half of its users, with more than eight million people dying each year. More than seven million of those deaths are the result of direct tobacco use, while around 1.2 million deaths are the result of exposure to second-hand smoke. According to the WHO, smoking cigarettes is thought to be the cause of about half a million deaths in the USA annually. Smoking is one of the biggest causes of death and illness in the UK. Every year nearly 78,000 people die, with many more living with smoking-related illnesses.

Giving up smoking is a monumental decision, and the benefits of it are profound. The journey to a smoke-free life of a person starts with the right support! According to the research, in 2009 campaign found that 1 in 10 smokers quit on No Smoking Day. Nurturing children’s conception of why people smoke is integral to teaching them how they can avoid the same kinds of issues. No Smoking Day is a wonderful opportunity to show students that there are alternate methods of handling mental health difficulties or addictive habits that don’t put our health at risk.

Smoking cigarettes is addictive, and it will always prove financially detrimental in the short and long term. Most smokers start for a reason and a number of factors can contribute towards a person’s reasons for smoking. Those can range from mental health issues to addiction. Many smokers begin in their teenage years too, which can make it even challenging to quit. No Smoking Day is an outstanding chance to highlight many of these issues, and by recognizing why people smoke, we can help everyone to understand and navigate the dilemmas before they arise.