York residents urged to stop smoking and get behind “Stoptober”

City of York Council is supporting this year’s Stoptober campaign and is urging the people of York to sign up to the 28-day stop smoking challenge.

There has never been a better time to quit smoking and the campaign follows data published in a University College of London (UCL) report which showed that nationally quitting success rates are at their highest for at least a decade.

The report showed success rates were up to 19.8 per cent for the first six months of this year.  This is significantly higher than the average for the last 10 years (15.7 per cent) and means smoking rates across the Yorkshire and Humber area are now at their lowest level ever (17.7 per cent) and there are now more ex-smokers than current smokers.

It doesn’t matter how long people have smoked for, stopping smoking can improve your health straight away. It can also protect loved ones from second hand smoke and illnesses such as asthma, meningitis and some cancers. People who smoke a pack a day, could save as much as £250 per month by quitting.
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