Wednesday 12th March, 2008
ASH (LESS) WEDNESDAY
March 12 will be the day most people decide to quit smoking this year according to ASDA
The double whammy of the Budget and No Smoking Day both falling on the 12 March will mean, according to ASDA, that for the first time, 1 January will no longer be the day when most people decided to quit smoking in 2008.
With the Chancellor expected to increase the price of a pack of cigarettes by up to 12p, tens of thousands of smokers are expected to decide to pack in the habit once and for all and make No Smoking Day a permanent fixture in their lives.
And in anticipation of huge number’s of people deciding to stub it out for good, ASDA is holding a series of nationwide ‘Stop Smoking’ clinics in-store, as well as offering over 200% off on certain Nicotine Replacement products.
Customers will have the chance to drop in to any one of ASDA’s 148 pharmacies across the country and take a free Carbon Monoxide test via a specially commissioned Smokalyser Kit2 ,and receive advice on how to give up for good from in-store experts.
And to give customers the best possible chance of kicking the habit, ASDA is slashing the price of certain Nicotine replacement products such as patches and gum by almost 300%. For example, ASDA is reducing the cost of a pack of ‘Nicorette Fresh Fruit Gum’ from £17 will fall to £5 – less than the price of a packet of fags.
ASDA’s ‘Stop Smoking’ Coordinator, Maria Barnett, commented: “Giving up smoking is probably the single most important change you can make if you want to improve your health, not to mention your wealth.
“Our ‘Stop Smoking’ clinics will not only give customers plenty of good reasons for giving up but they’ll also offer practical advice on how to do it. And with savings of over 200% on certain patches and gum, it’s quite probable that cigarettes will not be the only thing that our customers will find hard to resist.”
Dan Tickle, Chief Executive of the charity No Smoking Day, said “We’re delighted that ASDA in-store pharmacies will be running ‘Stop Smoking’ clinics on No Smoking Day. Combining a weekly supermarket visit with help and support to stop smoking is a great way of fitting it into a busy lifestyle. I wish everyone stopping smoking this No Smoking Day the very best of luck!”
Notes for Editors
1 ASDA’s Quit smoking clinics will be held in ASDA Pharmacies nationwide on 12th March 2008 – contact your local store for more information on times.
2 The Smokalyser Kit containing full instructions on how to use the monitor, plus supply of disposable mouthpieces. The monitor will measure the level of Carbon Monoxide in your customers sample - please encourage them to retake the test after a short period of giving up, the CO level will fall quickly and can act as real encouragement to the consumer.
3 Between 12 March and 16 March 2008, ASDA is rolling back the price of a variety of Nicotine Replacement products by as much as 200%.
| PPProduct | Retail | In Store Offers |
| Nicorette 4mg Gum 105’s Freshmint Flavour | £17 | £5 |
| Nicorette 4mg Gum 105’s Freshmint Flavour | £12.94 | £5 |
| Nicorette 2mg Gum 105’s Freshmint Flavour | £12.99 | £5 |
| Nicorette 2mg Gum 105’s Freshmint Flavour | £12.98 | £5 |
| Nicorette Patch 15mg 7pk | £13.58 | £5 |
| Nicorette Microtab 105’s | £16.96 | £5 |
Smoking Factfile …
· Around 26% of people in the UK aged 16 and over are cigarette smokers.
· Although 4 million smokers attempt to quit every year only 3-6% succeed.
· Approximately 120,000 people die of smoking-related diseases in the UK each year.
· Smoking causes thirty per cent of all cancer deaths (including around 84% of lung cancer deaths), 17% of all heart disease deaths and at least 80% of deaths from bronchitis and emphysema.
· Smoking is highest among those aged 20-34: 38% of men and women in this age group smoke. Among older age groups prevalence gradually declines with the lowest smoking rate among people aged 60 and over. 15% smoke in this age group.
· Research has found that around 70% of adult smokers would like to stop smoking
· A smoker who has suffered from a heart attack can halve the risk of a second heart attack by stopping smoking.
· People do give up - 21% of women and 27% of men are ex-smokers. Surveys show that about 70% of current smokers would like to give up altogether.
No Smoking Day Facts:
· No Smoking Day is in its twenty fifth year
· No Smoking Day helped over 1.2 million smokers to stop smoking since it began in 1984
· There are around 12 million smokers in the UK. Seven out ten want to stop smoking
· Every year millions of smokers use No Smoking Day to make a quit attempt
· An expected 2.25 million smokers will be making a quit attempt on No Smoking Day 2008 and around 85,000 of these will stay smoke-free for good. Millions more will use the day to find out about the help available to stop
General Information:
· Each puff from a cigarette sends around 4,000 chemicals into the body, including the harmful gas Carbon Monoxide (CO).
· The normal level of CO for a non-smoker depends on background levels in the air, but it is usually between 0 and 8 parts per million.
· A person who smokes 20 cigarettes per day will commonly have a CO level of about 20 parts per million while a 40 a-day smoker may have a level of about 40 parts per million.
· It only takes approximately 24-48 hours without a cigarette to eliminate traces of Carbon Monoxide from your system
· There are also specially designed leaflets available in-store offering hints, tips and advise to customers
