Never Quit Quitting campaign encourages Greater Manchester smokers to quit smoking

26 August 2021

The CURE Project is supporting a major new campaign aiming to help thousands more people who live and work in Greater Manchester to stop smoking.

The campaign launched on 16th August on TV and radio stations across the city-region. It centres on the real-life experiences of former smokers, giving hope to others that they can enjoy the benefits of quitting – no matter how long they have smoked or how many times they have tried to quit before.

It comes as Public Health England research shows that six in 10 smokers want to quit, and four in 10 plan to quit this year. Whilst acknowledging it can take a smoker on average 30 tries before they quit successfully.

Make Smoking History | Never Quit Quitting 30" TV ad - YouTube        

The ‘Never Quit Quitting’ campaign is being launched by the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership to inspire people to quit smoking and get healthier, wealthier, sooner.

While highlighting the serious health risks of smoking, the focus is on encouraging smokers to increase their chances of quitting by using a combination of personalised support and stop smoking aids, as experienced by other local residents.

Sarah Wray, Team Leader for The CURE Project, said: “We’re really pleased to be backing this campaign and showing our colleagues and patients that we support them to stop smoking.”

“While smoking rates are falling, smoking remains the single biggest preventable cause of early death. Shockingly, one in two smokers will die early and each year, for every death there will be 30 times as many people living with smoking related illnesses.”

“Around 45% of smokers in Greater Manchester made a serious quit attempt in the last year, but quitting takes practice. Evidence shows it can take somebody as much as 30 tries before they quit for good.”

“That’s why we’re fully behind this campaign to encourage more smokers to give quitting a go, and back the ambition to making smoking history in Greater Manchester.” 

Benefits of stopping smoking

Stopping smoking can significantly improve your health in ways you might not expect. Once you stop smoking, some of the benefits are immediate and some are longer term:    

  • After 20 minutes: Pulse rate starts to return to normal.
  • After 8 hours: Oxygen levels are recovering and harmful carbon monoxide in the blood is reduced by half.
  • After 48 hours: The body has flushed out all carbon monoxide, lungs start to clear out mucus and ability to taste and smell is improved.
  • After 72 hours: Bronchial tubes begin to relax, breathing becomes easier and energy levels increase.
  • After 2-12 weeks: Blood is pumping to the heart and muscles better because circulation has improved.
  • After 3-9 months: Coughs, wheezing and breathing problems improve as lung function increases by up to 10%.
  • After 1 year: Risk of heart attack has halved compared to a smoker. And research suggests that people who have quit for a year are happier than those who continue to smoke.
  • After 10 years: Risk of death from lung cancer falls to half that of a smoker.
  • After 15 years: Risk of heart attack falls to the same as someone who has never smoked.

How the CURE project can help

Advice and help from a healthcare professional is one of the top reasons a smoker will try to quit smoking. The NCA's in-patient stop smoking service ‘The Cure Project’, supports patients to abstain from smoking whilst in hospital and/or quit smoking upon discharge.  You can contact the team for further information at: Oldham.cureteam@pat.nhs.uk or by calling: 0161 7785782.

Get support to quit

Visit www.MakeSmokingHistory.co.uk to get free access to local support in Greater Manchester or call the NHS Stop Smoking helpline free on 0300 123 1044.

Smokers can also get six months free access to the pro features of the Smoke Free app (worth almost £60), when signing up at smokefreeapp.com/GM – simply enter your postcode or use the promo code SMOKEFREE if you live outside of Greater Manchester.

If you live outside of Greater Manchester and want help to quit, visit: https://www.nhs.uk/better-health/quit-smoking/.

Accessibility tools

Return to header