EVERY WEEK 8 people from East Riding area discover they have cancer caused by smoking!
While most smokers know about the link between smoking and lung cancer, many people do not realise that smoking is linked with not one but 16 different cancers, including cancers of the mouth, nasal cavities, pharynx and larynx, stomach, kidney, bowel, liver, pancreas, ureter, oesophagus, cervix, bladder and ovaries as well as myeloid leukaemia.
Quit16 is a hard-hitting campaign that highlights the 16 cancers associated with smoking and asks people to quit. It is the first region-wide anti-smoking campaign that includes advertising on television and online, by local tobacco control alliances, collaborating as Breathe 2025, and supported by Cancer Research UK.
It is based on a campaign first developed and run in Australia in 2014 by the Cancer Council Western Australia, with 74% of smokers who saw it seriously considering quitting and 20% discussing quitting with a health professional as a result.
Yorkshire and the Humber has one of the highest adult smoking rates in the country, with 20% of adults still smoking.
The campaign launched this month and runs throughout February 2016.
Natalie Belt Service Manager said: ‘The films and message are brutally honest: there are 16 cancers caused by smoking. Some will kill you quickly, others more slowly and it’s you and your family that have to live through it.
Stopping smoking is the best thing you can do to reduce the risk that one of those deaths will be you.
‘Quitting isn’t easy but there is lots of help out there from face to face support to personalised texts, emails and apps.
You can find out details of support near you on our website Quit16.co.uk