1,000 smokers seeking to quit in New Year

Over 1,000 smokers have signed up to QUIT.ie since New Year’s Day – join them and make this your year
 
·  Smoking prevalence is dropping in Ireland but we still have 700,000 smokers
·  On every day of 2016, 14 families will be bereaved as a result of cigarettes
·  Smokers are twice as likely to QUIT for good with support from the HSE QUIT team

With each New Year comes a new opportunity to improve your health, and for many smokers, it’s a good time to make a quit attempt.  Over 20,000 smokers are making a quit attempt this week, and getting help and motivation is the best way to quit for good.
Dave Molloy, National Tobacco Lead for the HSE said today: 'In the last 12 months, we’ve made some tremendous progress towards our goal of a Tobacco Free Ireland.  In March 2015, the HSE announced the largest annual drop in smoking prevalence in Ireland since 2009, where we saw the proportion of the population who are smokers reduced by 2 percentage points, or an estimated 70,000 smokers.  Later in 2015, the Healthy Ireland Survey confirmed that just 19.5% of the population are daily smokers.
'But, we still have a problem – there are 700,000 smokers in Ireland, and they are addicted to a product that kills 1 in every 2 of those who use it. 5,200 smokers will die in 2016, which is 100 family funerals each week, or 14 each day. Those numbers are shocking, and there are few better reasons to make a quit attempt this year. Whether it’s your first attempt, or you’re a seasoned quitter, the HSE’s QUIT Team is a free service that is here to help, and whose support will double your chances of success.'
The HSE’s QUIT Team is a personal support service to help quitters – providing a team of trained advisors, interactive digital tools, empathy and support.  The QUIT team can help you over the phone, on Facebook or Twitter, via email or text, or through Live Chat via the QUIT.ie support website.  We also have a network of face-to-face HSE QUIT services in many locations around the country, providing one-to-one and group support for smokers.
'70% of smokers want to QUIT, and we’ve seen how support from fellow quitters can make a big difference.  As well as our support service, we’ve created a new Community Section on our website and Facebook page for 2016, which connects quitters to people who have walked the same road and can offer stories, advice and motivation to keep going, or try again.'
Dave Molloy concluded: 'Remember, if you’re a smoker: You can QUIT and we can help.  Contact the QUIT team today; you’re twice as likely to quit with our help.'
 
·         Freephone 1800 201 203
·         Freetext QUIT to 50100
·         Get started on www.QUIT.ie
·         Find local HSE QUIT support groups on QUIT.ie or by calling the QUIT team
·         Tweet the QUIT team @hseQUITteam
·         Join our Facebook page www.facebook.com/HSEquit
·         Share your QUIT Story on the QUIT Heroes App: http://heroes.quit.ie