Mouth cancer campaign supports Stoptober

The British Dental Health Foundation is backing Stoptober – a national campaign which is challenging Britain’s 8 million smokers to quit for a month.

Launched by the government, the Department of Health campaign runs throughout October and offers support by providing useful tips, daily motivational text messages and invaluable tools to help people kick the habit.

Smoking remains the biggest cause of premature death in the UK and accounts for one in four cancer mortalities and nearly a fifth of all cancer cases. Smoking is linked to three-quarters of all mouth cancer cases and remains the most likely cause of the disease which kills one person every five hours in the UK.

Dr Nigel Carter, chief executive of the Foundation, which runs Mouth Cancer Action Month, thinks Stoptober provides a great opportunity for smokers to give up the habit.

Dr Carter said: ‘Most people are now aware that smoking presents a very real danger to health. With so many concerns surrounding its damaging effects, Stoptober is a vital campaign, which the Foundation supports wholeheartedly.

‘There is proof that people who get help stand a better chance of giving up. By organising campaigns such as Stoptober, smokers can continue to find the support they need and are given the final push and encouragement to finally give up smoking.”

According to the World Health Organization, up to half of current smokers will eventually die of a tobacco-related disease, including mouth cancer. Smoking helps to transforms saliva into a deadly cocktail that damages cells in the mouth and can turn them cancerous.

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