World No Tobacco Day 2013: Major Milestone in European Commission's "Ex-Smokers are Unstoppable" Campaign
BRUSSELS, May 31, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --
- 380,000 from across Europe have registered to quit smoking with iCoach
- The UK has the largest number of registered iCoach users
- 37% of people registered say they're ex-smokers after 3 months[1]
To mark World No Tobacco Day 2013, the European Commission has announced that since the campaign's launch in 2011, more than 380,000 Europeans have now signed up to its smoking cessation initiative, "Ex-Smokers are Unstoppable", which is a significant step towards the goal of helping half a million people to quit smoking by the end of 2013.
European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy, Tonio Borg says: "I am delighted with the success of the "Ex-Smokers are Unstoppable" campaign, which is demonstrated by the figures announced today. Highlighting the inspiring achievements of ex-smokers and focusing on the benefits of becoming an ex-smoker such as better health and more money clearly resonates with people. On World No Tobacco Day, I would like to congratulate each and every smoker who is taking steps to quit."
Findings from a European Commission survey have also found that by far the most helpful factors in quitting smoking are willpower and motivation in the UK. iCoach is the campaign's free online digital health tool, which provides tailored quit-smoking support via email and mobile app in each of the 22 official languages of the EU to motivate and support users. Nearly 30,000 people in the UK are using iCoach to help them quit smoking; this is more people than in any other European country. The reported quit rate for people signing up to iCoach is 37%[1] which is the proportion of people who classed themselves as a non-smoker after 3 months on the programme.
Another major success for the European Commission in the goal towards a smoke-free Europe is the 'Quit Smoking with Barca' initiative which was launched in December 2012. It has since attracted more than 72,000 football fans to quit smoking with the guidance of Barca's players, coaches and staff. The target is to reach 99,000 fans through the 'Quit Smoking with Barca' programme a number which would represent filling the club's Camp Nou Stadium to capacity with ex-smokers.
"Ex-Smokers are Unstoppable" events are also taking place across Europe to coincide with this year's World No Tobacco Day activities.
World No Tobacco Day is intended to draw global attention to the health risks associated with tobacco use and advocate for effective policies to reduce tobacco consumption. Worldwide, tobacco kills nearly six million people each year[2], 600,000 of whom are non-smokers dying from breathing second-hand smoke[2]. In Europe alone tobacco is responsible for 700,000 deaths each year[2].
1. Data on file, April 2013
2. European Commission. Special Eurobarometer 385 / Wave EB77.1 - TNS Opinion & Social, May 2012.
Further Information:
"Ex-Smokers are Unstoppable" website:
The Public Health Portal of the European Union:
The Public Health website of the European Commission: http://ec.europa.eu/health/tobacco/policy/index_en.htm
Media Enquiries:
Matthew Coy; matthew.coy@toniclc.com; +44-(0)20-7798-9900
Konstantina Gogi; Konstantina.gogi@toniclc.com; +44-(0)20-7798-9900
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