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Embargoed until 00:01 on 14 February 2012 - Say no to smoke and bag yourself a date this valentine’s day
Pick up a free Quit Kit from your local pharmacy
Today (14 February 2012) is the most romantic day of the year and it looks like the recipe to finding a smokin’ hot date is simple - quit smoking.
New research from the Department of Health shows that if you are looking for a date this Valentine’s Day then be sure to keep away from cigarettes if you want to increase your chances of success.
Among people polled, it was the 18-24 year olds who were most put off by the smell of cigarettes.
* seventy four per cent claimed they would not kiss someone who
had just smoked;
* seventy six per cent agreed that smoking
makes people less attractive; and
* sixty four per cent of
35-44 year olds said they would refuse a kiss from a smoker.
As well as leaving a bad taste in the mouth of your date, 47 per cent of those polled said that if they knew someone was a smoker they would think twice about starting a serious relationship. So, people who want to stay one step ahead of the game this Valentine’s Day should put an end to their habit and quit today.
This is backed up by data from the relationship sites eHarmony.co.uk, mysinglefriend.com and Match.com, which shows that smoking habits can have a significant impact on the search for love. On eHarmony.co.uk eighty-one per cent of all members stated they would not partner with a heavy smoker; at Match.com seventy-two per cent of male members and seventy-three per cent of female members said “No Way” when it comes to smoking and at mysinglefriend.com over sixty-seven per cent of respondents said smoking would put them off dating someone.
Sarah Beeny, host of Channel 4’s Property Ladder and brainchild of mysinglefriend.com, said: “Smoking is clearly a key factor in determining a list of possible matches on a dating website.
“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 will protect the years your have together when you do settle down – get quitting!“
Astonishingly, over eight million people in England still smoke and sadly, 50 per cent of these are likely to die from smoking related diseases if they do not quit. By quitting smoking, smokers could increase their life expectancy by 16 years and save thousands of pounds.
To help you quit smoking free Quit Kits are now available from your local pharmacy. To find your nearest Quit Kit pharmacy stockist text SEARCH and your postcode to 88088 or search online at nhs.uk/smokefree. For help and advice on quitting smoking visit http://smokefree.nhs.uk/
Top tips for quitting smoking
* Visit your local pharmacy and pick up a free NHS Quit Kit * Sign up to the free Text service by texting TIPS to 63818 * Set yourself goals and look at how much money you are saving each week
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
For further information please contact the Department of Health newsdesk on 020 7210 5221.
Statistics came from a poll conducted for the Department of Health by ComRes. 1,746 English adults online between 21 and 22 September 2011. Full data tables are available at www.comres.co.uk.
Further breakdown of statistics are available upon request.
NHS Quit Kits
The NHS Quit Kit has been developed by experts, smokers and ex-smokers, and contains practical tools and advice to help smokers quit smoking for good.
For the first time, the Quit Kit includes a new text support programme to give smokers extra help in those tough first weeks.
Other items include:
* a health/wealth wheel, which helps quitters calculate how much they are saving and the improvements they will see to their health
* tips on how to improve and boost willpower, including a quitting planner which helps quitters identify smoking triggers and offers tips on managing cravings
* MP3 downloads that are scientifically proven to reduce cravings
* a wall chart to map progress
Contacts:
Department of Health
Phone: 020 7210 5221
NDS.DH@coi.gsi.gov.uk
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