Cancer Research UK launches online sponsored quitting for smokers

Smokers hoping to give up in time for England going smokefree in July now have an added motivation to quit for good. Cancer Research UK has launched a new online initiative encouraging people to raise sponsorship for the charity in support of their attempt to quit.

www.sponsormetoquit.org allows would-be-quitters’ family and friends to support their efforts, with all money raised going towards Cancer Research UK’s vital work to beat cancer.

Smoking is the single biggest cause of cancer in the world, but stopping smoking greatly reduces the risk of cancer and other diseases. While improved health is the main motivation for most would-be-quitters, everyone has their own reason for wanting to give up. Whatever it is, making a quit attempt is the first step towards stopping smoking for good.

Research shows that quitting with support doubles smokers’ chances of giving up for good. But asking those close to them to sponsor their attempt to stop smoking may provide people trying to quit with an extra incentive to resist the urge to smoke and strengthen the resolve that made them want to give up in the first place.

Once smokers have made the decision to try to stop smoking and to ask those around them to sponsor their attempt, they can build their own personalised webpage by visiting www.sponsormetoquit.org.

Poppy Ahern, online income manager at Cancer Research UK, said: “Currently, there are over eleven million smokers in the UK, which is about a quarter of the adult population.

“We know from other countries which have gone smokefree that thousands of smokers will try to quit in the run-up to 1st July. We hope that friends and family will also seize the opportunity to support their loved one’s endeavours and raise money to help Cancer Research UK beat cancer.”

For information on how to make a sponsored quit attempt in aid of Cancer Research UK, visit www.sponsormetoquit.org.

Further details on the benefits of stopping smoking can be found at www.reducetherisk.org.uk.

ENDS

For media enquiries, please contact the Cancer Research UK press office on 020 7061 8315 or, out-of-hours, the duty press officer on 07050 264 059.