West Country Dentists Support Stoptober Campaign

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Dentists are joining forces with nurses, doctors and other public health figures to support the Stoptober campaign in the West Country.

The campaign, which runs nationally every year, is designed to encourage people to give up smoking in October. Smoking increases the risk of a host of life-threatening illnesses and is a major risk factor for gum disease and oral cancer, in addition to respiratory conditions, other forms of cancer and heart disease.

Devon County Council and the Northern Devon Healthcare Trust will be supporting the campaign in Devon throughout the month and local dentists and GP practices will be holding informative sessions and giving out information and leaflets to raise awareness of smoking-related illnesses and provide advice for patients who would like to give up smoking.

Manager of the Devon Stop Smoking Service, Greg Price, said that Stoptober is the perfect opportunity for people who smoke to set themselves a target to give up.

Around 8 million people in the UK smoke and research shows that half of long-term smokers die prematurely as a result of health complications. Stoptober represents an excellent chance for people who have been considering giving up or cutting down to go ahead and try. The campaign is supported by public health officials all over the UK in addition to celebrities including Paddy McGuinness.

Research suggests that people who are able to give up smoking for 28 days are around 5 times more likely to give up for good than those who are unable to make the 28 day period.

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