30th October marks the Day of the Ex-Smoker and the celebration of those who’ve managed to kick the habit across the whole of Europe.

If you are an ex- smoker and would like to celebrate with others why not share your story with us here?

 

 

If you are considering quitting smoking (with or without the use of e-cigarettes) then contact the Warwickshire Stop Smoking Service, this is completely free, find out more athttp://www.smokefreewarwickshire.org or call 0800 085 2917 or text LIFE to 80800. You could be an ex-smoker this time next year.

Also today Public Health England (PHE) has revealed that over 215,000 smokers signed up to this year’s Stoptober, the country’s 28-day mass quitting challenge, reflecting latest figures which show substantial reductions in smoking over the last 30 years.

The latest official figures show rates across England have fallen dramatically since the mid eighties, from a third of the population in 1985 to less than a fifth now (18%), meaning there are 37% fewer smokers than 30 years ago.

The significant decline in smoking can also be seen in the reduction in the number of households that include a smoker, from half (50%) in 1985, to 21% in 2013.

However, there are still around 8 million smokers in England and smoking causes almost 80,000 deaths per year. Treating smoking related diseases is estimated to cost the NHS £2 billion each year.