Smoking statistics for the North East:
- 11 people in the North East die from smoking-related diseases every day
- Smoke kills fifty percent of long term users.
But it's not all bad news for our region...
- The number of people who smoke in the North East has reduced to 20 percent
- The North East has seen the biggest drop in the number of smokers nationwide, with more people quitting than in any other region
This year's No Smoking Day campaign is focusing upon the financial incentives of giving up. According to the British Heart Foundation, money is one of the biggest incentives for people in our region to give up smoking.
**On average, a 20-a-day smoker will spend £7.00 on a packet of cigarettes.
***This means you could save:*
- £49 in one week - enough to pay for a family trip to the cinema or for a monthly mobile phone bill
- £98 in a fortnight - enough for the weekly family shop or to book an overnight stay in a hotel
- £210 in a month - enough to pay quarterly gas and electric bills or for tickets to a music festival
- £630 in 3 months - enough to tax, fuel and insure your car, or to buy a football season ticket
- £1260 in 6 months - enough to redecorate a room or buy a second-hand car
- £2555 in one year - enough to take the family on a week's holiday in Spain
If you want to quit smoking you can contact:
- Newcastle and North Tyneside NHS Stop Smoking Service on 0191 229 2910
- Gateshead, South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Stop Smoking Services on 0800 531 6317