A hard-hitting quit smoking campaign has been launched on November 1, 2023, by Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership.
The ‘What Will You Miss’ campaign is running on TV, radio and social media, and across Greater Manchester. The campaign is part of wider ambitions to become a smokefree city region by 2030.
It has the stark message that up to two in three smokers will die early if they don’t quit, data suggests.
It comes as the Government has launched a UK-wide consultation on its stopping the start plan. This aims to continually raise the age at which people can smoke to stop young people taking it up.
Additional funding has been announced for mass media campaigns across the country. The new Greater Manchester campaign highlights the importance of hard-hitting health messages for people to make changes to quit smoking.
Smoking statistics
In greater Manchester, it’s estimated that:
- Around 5,700 people die each year from smoking-related illnesses
- 150,000 smokers are living in ill-health
- Almost 15,000 people are out of work due to smoking-related illness
As part of NHS Greater Manchester’s Make Smoking History programme, free, personalised support is available for residents who smoke. This includes 24/7 access to trained stop smoking advisors on the Smoke Free App, which has helped one million people to quit smoking to date.
Matt Evison, clinical lead for Make Smoking History, said, “Most people who smoke get addicted as children and desperately want to stop. This new campaign emphasises that people who smoke won’t escape its harms.
“As a respiratory consultant, I sadly see the impact of smoking every day. I know what it’s like to tell someone that they won’t see their child or grandchild grow up, get married and enjoy all the things they’re most looking forward to. There is no greater thing that someone can do for their health than stop smoking.”
Deter young people from smoking
The campaign is backed by Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester. He said, “Smoking is the biggest cause of preventable death and ill-health in Greater Manchester. Everyone knows someone who has been affected by the repercussions of tobacco.
“That’s why we want to do everything we can to deter young people from even trying a cigarette, in turn preventing a possible lifetime of addiction and illnesses like cancer and heart disease.
“Tobacco harms our communities, the NHS and the economy. We are committed to creating a healthier, smokefree future for everyone in Greater Manchester and support the government’s consultation as we work together to tackle inequalities in smoking prevalence and smoking-related harms.”