Everyone likes a quitter.

摘要

By the time this issue of BJN hits the shelves, the 25th annual No Smoking Day - which aims to help over 2 million smokers quit for good - will have taken place, bolstering momentum for the smoking ban implemented in England last year.According to the charity 'No Smoking Day', on Wednesday 12 March, the first annual No Smoking Day since smoke-free legislation was rolled out across the whole of the UK, 2.25 million smokers planned to kick the habit (No Smoking Day, 2008). Whether any of them do quit remains to be seen; yet there is a precedent. A study by Owen and Youdan (2006), commissioned by No Smoking Day, concluded that this annual event is actually quite effective, not only in raising awareness, but also in motivating people to quit - and not just for the Day. In their study of 4928 smokers and recent ex-smokers aged 16 and over, Owen and Youdan (2006) evaluated the impact and relevance of No Smoking Day 22 years after it was launched. Their results were very interesting, and infinitely more promising than I would have expected: call me pessimistic, but I wouldn't have thought that simply assigning the name 'No Smoking Day' to one random day in the year would have any significant effect.