Thousands of kiwis urged to stop smoking this October

Thousands of kiwis urged to stop smoking this October

From October 1, thousands of kiwis will be taking part in the 31-day stop smoking challenge.
Stoptober is only in the second year in New Zealand but organisers are expecting swelling participant numbers to double.

For many kiwis it is really hard to stop smoking and many smokers want to be Smokefree. Stoptober offers a great opportunity to be part of a national Smokefree movement for just 31 days.

Last year over 5,200 kiwis signed up online to participate in the first Stoptober 31-day challenge, with a number of people who did the challenge but didn’t sign up online.

Campaign manager Kelly Pohatu says it is hoped that 10,000 kiwis sign up this year.

“Rather than concentrate on health risks, Stoptober 2015 focuses on the positives unleashed by stopping smoking, and so our theme is ‘Stopping could be the start of something!’ For example, Stoptober could be the start of having more money in your pocket, better living or saving for a new IPhone,” says Kelly.

Research shows that, in 2013, we had 762,000 ex-smokers versus 463,000 current smokers. Research also shows that 46 percent of young Māori have never smoked, and 86 per cent of young Māori are Smokefree.

“This movement aims to trigger stop smoking attempts on a national scale during the month of October. Once people are signed up to Stoptober, we'll be able to let them know there’s a lot of support available to them to become Smokefree, including face-to-face support, and stop smoking therapies like gum, lozenges and Champix.

“We need massive ways to get as many New Zealanders to be Smokefree as soon as possible. Clinical evidence shows smokers who stop smoking for a month are five times more likely to stay Smokefree and smokers who use nicotine replacement therapy to stop smoking are more likely to stay Smokefree.”

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