BDHA Lends Support To Stoptober Campaign
The British Dental Health Foundation is backing the national stop smoking campaign, Stoptober.
Stoptober is taking place throughout October and the aim is to get 8 million smokers to give up. The campaign has been launched by the government with the aim of educating people about the dangers of smoking and providing them with the guidance and support they need to quit.
Figures confirm that smoking is the main causes of premature death in adults in the UK, accounting for 1 in 4 cancer deaths and 1 in 5 cancer cases.
The British Dental Health Foundation is supporting the government campaign in conjunction with next month’s Mouth Cancer Action Month campaign. Smoking is one of the main risk factors for mouth cancer, which is becoming increasingly prevalent in the UK. Smoking is linked to three quarters of mouth cancer cases.
Dr Nigel Carter, chief executive of the BDHF, said that the Stoptober is a great cause to support and added that it was extremely important that people are aware of the dangers of smoking, which damages almost every bodily system and organ. Dr Carter said that it is also important for dentists to make the most of the opportunity they have to help people give up smoking and spot early warning signs of oral diseases and oral cancer; dentists are encouraged to talk to patients about their lifestyle choices and educate them about causes and risk factors and symptoms of oral cancer.
Stoptober will run throughout October and Mouth Cancer Action Month will run from the 1st to 30th November.
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