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Wednesday 11 March is National No Smoking Day and as people across the country consider stubbing out once and for all, leading veterinary charity, PDSA, is encouraging owners to consider their pet’s health when lighting up.
Research* shows cats exposed to second-hand smoke are twice as likely to develop feline lymphoma, a potentially fatal form of cancer, in smoking households. It can also make them sneeze, cough and wheeze.
Dogs are also very susceptible to smoking-related respiratory problems and their exposure to tobacco smoke has been linked to nasal and sinus cancers**.
Cigarette smoke can also be extremely harmful to pet birds, which have very sensitive respiratory systems.
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The pain smokers fell on giving up is a positive sign your body is recovering, says Dr Tony Jewell
LAST week marked the 26th national No Smoking Day. Smoking is the single largest preventable cause of premature death and one of the main determinants of health inequalities in Wales and the UK today.
In this article I want to draw attention to some less well known effects of smoking and give some tips and encourage Welsh smokers to quit.
Children under five who live in a smoking household are often diagnosed with glue ear and respiratory tract infections, which are both unpleasant illnesses and require medical attention.
People who smoke, or who are regularly exposed to the tobacco smoke of others, are more susceptible to respiratory infections and as a result will require a doctor's appointment and antibiotic prescription along with time off work to recover.
Experts will today call on the Assembly Government to do more to prevent the deaths of 500 people a month from smoking-related diseases.
The Welsh Tobacco Control Alliance will also urge families to declare their homes no smoking zones.
The calls from more community-based action to control the sale and use of tobacco comes as the UK marks the 26th national No Smoking Day today.
Tanya Buchanan, director of Ash Wales, said, on behalf of the alliance: "Six thousand people die in Wales each year as a result of smoking - that's an average of 500 people every month.
"It is also estimated that on average smokers die about 10 years younger than non-smokers.
"Wales, unlike England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, does not currently have any government-endorsed strategy for dealing with tobacco use.
New research released to mark No Smoking Day (11 March) shows more than one in three (36%) of the nine million smokers in Great Britain are thinking about or planning to cut down or quit as a direct result of the economic downturn. The poll also shows that one in ten (9%) will be taking the first step and making a quit attempt on No Smoking Day.
No Smoking Day President and Dragons' Den star, Duncan Bannatyne, commented on the findings: "Everybody is feeling the pinch during the current recession.
"For smokers, who can spend over GBP2000 a year on cigarettes, it's particularly tough, so for those who are ready to quit there has never been a better time." . . .
Gemma Bissix, ex-Eastenders star and Dancing on Ice celebrity, who recently stopped smoking with the help of her local NHS Stop Smoking Service and supports No Smoking Day said: "There's only one piece of advice that I'd give to someone who wants to get fit for summer - quit smoking! So why not use No Smoking Day on 11 March to kick start you new healthy living? I stopped smoking with the support of my local NHS Stop Smoking Service."
Giving up smoking not only provides benefits in terms of health, it can also result in thousands of pounds of savings, according to Abbey.
The firm has used the upcoming No Smoking Day on March 11th to highlight the fact that if Britain's 10.7 million smokers give up they could save £8,404 on life insurance cover each. It echoes a similar claim from Asda Life earlier in the month, which advised that ex-smokers see their life and critical illness premiums drop by 50 percent.
However, in general, insurance providers will only consider someone an ex-smoker when they have not had a cigarette in a year.
SMOKING is the number one cause of avoidable premature death, linked to a range of serious and often fatal conditions.
It kills almost 6,000 people in Wales every year.
The sooner you stop smoking, the sooner the risk of developing lung cancer, other cancers, heart attack, stroke and chronic lung disease starts going down.
The good news is that if you want to stop smoking there's help at hand from a wide range of places, including local stop smoking services, through your doctor and local pharmacies.
No Smoking Day on Wednesday is the UK's leading health campaign for smokers who want to stop. . . .
The smoking cessation services available at your local pharmacy may vary slightly but all provide advice on how to keep healthy and what steps you can take to quit for good.
Smokers in Keighley trying to stub out the habit are being reminded that help is at hand.
The regional NHS said people using its free stop-smoking services were four times more likely to succeed than those going it alone.
Spokesman Paul Johnstone said: “Giving up smoking can be a very difficult thing to do and often willpower alone is not enough.
New research released to mark No Smoking Day (11 March) shows nearly one in three (30%) of smokers in the North West are thinking about or planning to cut down or quit as a direct result of the economic downturn.
Almost three-quarters[1] of smokers would like to quit. Smokefree North West is encouraging them to take the first step on No Smoking Day by seeking advice from their NHS Stop Smoking Service, GP or pharmacist.
FIREFIGHTERS in Worcester are urging smokers to kick the habit by supporting this year’s National No Smoking day.
Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service is supporting No Smoking Day 2009 and giving smokers plenty of reasons to quit on Wednesday.
Smouldering cigarettes are a common cause of accidental house fires, responsible for one death and 11 injuries across the two counties in the past two years.
Smokers struggling to give up are being told to ‘put it out, right out’ after finishing a cigarette.
SMOKERS in Harrogate can get help to quit the habit tomorrow for national No Smoking Day.
NHS North Yorkshire and York are to set up stands in the town where people can get advice on giving up smoking.
The stands will be at Morrisons supermarket in Starbeck from 10am to noon, and at Asda supermarket in Bower Road from 2 to 4pm.
People will also be able to test their carbon monoxide levels and register to specialist clinics.
A teenager who quit smoking to be unique to his friends is encouraging others to take his lead for No Smoking Day 2009 tomorrow.
Darren Thornhill’s mates all light up but he decided to stub out his habit and now said he can spend his money on buying new clothes.
The Whitley teenager is part of a family of three generations who have all stopped smoking with the help of the local NHS Stop Smoking Services and between them are now saving more than �100 a week.
Mr Thornhill’s mother Michelle Millington was the first to kick the habit and she then inspired her son and her father, Richard Brade, from Tilehurst, to do the same.
The health service in Lincolnshire forks out £39.6 million a year on treating patients for smoking-related conditions, new figures reveal.
NHS statistics 11 years ago showed that the county's spending on smoking-related health was £24.9 million – meaning an extra £14.7 million is now being levied on tackling smoking illness annually.
But despite the higher cost of treating patients, the tax collected by the Government from county tobacco sales has actually fallen.
Lincolnshire smokers paid £100.2m in tax in 1998, compared with £98m last year.
Manager of NHS Lincolnshire's Phoenix Stop Smoking Service Gary Burroughs said there was significantly less revenue collected from tobacco sales despite a packet of 20 cigarettes going up from £3 to £5.50 over the past decade.
A FIRE service is joining forces with the NHS in an innovative move to prevent fires and help smokers quit.
Fire prevention officers at Wallsend Community Fire Station, in North Tyneside, are set to receive special training to provide advice and information to residents on the stop smoking services available from the NHS.
The project, believed to be the first of its kind in the North of Tyne area, will be delivered by the Newcastle and North Tyneside Stop Smoking Service.
They will train community safety prevention officers - who carry out home safety checks in homes across the borough - so they can offer informed advice on stop smoking support available.
Fire statistics reveal that over 800 people were killed or injured in accidental house fires started by cigarettes or smoking materials in 2007.[1] The shocking figures reveal that 1 in 3 fire deaths are caused by smoking materials and men aged between 30 and 59 were among the highest risk groups for smoking related fires in the home.
In response to the serious fire risks caused by smoking, the Fire Kills campaign is supporting No Smoking Day 2009 and giving smokers yet more reasons to quit on March 11 and beyond.
Former BDO World Darts Champion and England International, John 'Boy' Walton is supporting the Fire Kills no smoking campaign. He intends to use No Smoking Day to finally quit smoking and is urging others to do the same. He says:
OXFORDSHIRE Primary Care Trust will be giving out information about how to give up smoking this week.
The national No Smoking Day events on Wednesday are being held at Templars Square Shopping Centre, Cowley, from 10am-2pm, Blackbird Leys Community Centre, between 10am and 4pm, the John Radcliffe Hospital, between 10am and 2pm, and Fitzharrys School, Abingdon, between 12.30pm and 1.30pm. For help giving up smoking, call the PCT’s advice line on 0845 4080300.