Irish Cancer Society calls on smokers to make a smoke-free start to 2012

The Irish Cancer Society is encouraging all smokers to make quitting one of their New Year’s resolutions for 2012. Stopping smoking is the single most important thing you can do to improve your health and quality of your life. What better time than the beginning of a New Year.

Norma Cronin, Health Promotion Manager at the Irish Cancer Society said “If you are one of the million smokers in Ireland, you can get support to quit by calling the National Smoker’s Quitline  on 1850 201 203  or visiting your GP or pharmacist. Research shows that 70% of smokers want to quit and the key to successful quitting is wanting to stop, being motivated, planning and preparing to quit.”

 Ms Cronin continued “Pick a day, get support from friends and family and follow through on your quit plan. If you think positively, get active and learn the best way to deal with cravings you are on the road to success. If you have tried to quit before and have not succeeded, try again – it’s never too late to quit.”

“Smoking is the main cause of preventable death and ill health in Ireland causing 30% of all cancers. In Ireland, one in every two smokers will die from a smoking related illness. While there are significant health benefits to stopping smoking, there are other factors to consider too. You will have a lot more money and you will feel in control of your life,” Ms Cronin concluded.

In Ireland almost one in four people smoke and smoking kills almost 5,500 people every year. Smoking causes one in three cancers and nine in ten lung cancers. For information and support on how to quit smoking call the National Smokers' Quitline on 1850 201 203, check out www.quit.ie or www.cancer.ie