Valentine's Day campaign urges smokers to quit

To coincide with St. Valentine’s Day the UK’s Department of Health (DoH) has launched a new stop smoking initiative.

It comes as a survey, which was carried out by the DoH, revealed that the majority of people think smoking is one of the biggest turn-offs out there.

Out of the 1,700 people that were questioned as part of the study, almost half said they would think twice about getting involved in a serious relationship with a smoker.  

The DoH is now offering smokers in the UK the chance to get their hands on a free smoking ‘Quit Kit’, which people are able to collect from their local pharmacies.

To read the latest edition of Healthcare Global, click here

• Broken bones could heal in days with new fracture putty
• Effectiveness of cancer treatments boosted by fasting
• Bereavement and shyness could by mental illnesses

The survey also found that many respondents thought smoking made their potential suitor considerably less attractive.

Meanwhile, 74 percent of people aged between 18 and 24 said they would not want to kiss anyone who had just had a cigarette.

However some people even went so far as to say they would refuse to kiss a smoker – 64 percent of those questioned who were aged 35-44 came back with this response.

BBC News has also reported that on the popular dating website Match.com over 70 percent of both male and female love-hunters were looking for a partner who was a non-smoker.

The news website also quoted the founder of fellow dating website mysinglefriend.com, Sarah Beeny, as saying: “Whilst obviously people aren't permanently a smoker in many cases and some people can see past this - it does clearly influence a person's decision to date you.

“It's particularly obvious that non-smokers find it harder to live with a smoker, so by giving up you not only increase your dating market, but protect the years you have together when you do settle down.”

The aim of the Valentine’s Day campaign is ultimately to encourage people to stop smoking by showing them the effect it could have on their quest to find love.

Estimations suggest that life expectancy can be increased by up to 16 years if people choose to stop smoking and it can also save them thousands of pounds.

According to the DoH, half of smokers are most likely to die from illnesses and condition related to their habit and in England alone there are thought to currently be more than eight million smokers.

The Healthcare Global magazine is now available on the iPad. Click here to download it.