Smokers who ask for help are more likely to quit

Smokers who ask for help are more likely to quit

The traditional New Year’s resolution, together with the January 1 tobacco tax increase, has prompted a record number of smokers to contact Quit to get help to stop smoking.

In the first six days of 2011, Quitline’s phones ran hot with over 1,700 calls, exceeding their ambitious forecast of 1,350 calls for the entire week.

Paula Snowden, Quit Group Chief Executive says, “We were expecting a spike in demand over the New Year, so we staffed up and opened the phone lines on New Year’s Day. But we’ve simply been blown away by the number of calls. The six and a half thousand visits to our website so far this week, has also been particularly heartening.”

Says Paula, “In the hope that we can encourage even more smokers to get in touch with us, we have a new advertising campaign starting this Monday (10th January). Quite simply, we are asking kiwis who want to quit to use our help. This is because smokers who use support, are up to five times more successful than those who try cold turkey and go it alone.”

The new advertising campaign reinforces the fact that last year 11,000 New Zealanders successfully quit smoking with Quit’s help. “The message to all smokers is that every hour a kiwi successfully quits smoking”, says Paula, “so we are encouraging everyone to make this their hour and get in touch. It’s the very best way to turn that New Year’s resolution into a reality”.

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