No Smoking Day 2022: How it came into being and the thought behind observing the day

‘Smoking is injurious to health’ is a tagline we have all seen growing up. Advertisements, awareness campaigns about the adverse effect of smoking have been everywhere, even covering 70 per cent of the packaging of the cigarette box, but nothing has been able to deter men from the habit. And hence to generate more awareness about the ill effects of smoking and motivate them to quit smoking, every year, No Smoking Day is celebrated on the second Wednesday of March. The day came into existence drawing inspiration from the United Kingdom’s No Tobacco Day.

No Smoking Day: History

Smoking day was initially celebrated on the first Wednesday of March as it began on Ash Wednesday and with time it shifted to second Wednesday. And what began in the United Kingdom in 1984 with its population getting addicted to tobacco. It has now become an event in the rest of the world as well.

The day started with the objective of helping addictive smokers quit smoking forever.

Every year the theme changes but the focus remains the same, encouraging people to quit smoking. Few of the themes that hold a higher success rate are ‘Time to Quit’, ‘Break Free’. This year the theme is ‘quitting smoking doesn’t have to be stressful’. The focus of this year will be calming down people who want to quit smoking and letting them know that process need not be stressful.

No Smoking Day Significance:

Quit smoking is better said than done. People have failed several times. It is a habit that dies hard and needs an extreme level of motivation to quit smoking. Bodies get addicted to the nicotine rush and one stops smoking, the body reacts.

Therefore, taking this day as an opportunity, health authorities, NGOs encourage people to take the first step towards putting an end to the deadly habit.

It has been found No smoking day proved beneficial to one out of 10 people who wanted to quit. Countries like the United Kingdom encourage people to come and utilize resources to quit smoking. Agencies extend their helping hand to provide guidance and support.