No Smoking Day's President Duncan Bannatyne OBE

The British Dental Association and the Mouth Cancer Foundation supported this year's No Smoking Day 2009 campaign, which took place on 11 March 2009.

Its organisers hoped that more than a million smokers would use No Smoking Day to try to quit. This year's theme was developed with smokers themselves, with involvement from local organisers. According to the charity, its 'Take the first step' campaign was also an invitation to use the day to make a lifelong change, as a reminder that quitting requires commitment and planning.

The campaign notes that, there are about 9.4 million smokers in UK and smoking is highest among 20-24 year olds, with 32% of men and 30% of women smoking. Smoking rates are markedly higher among poorer people. In 2006, 16% of men in higher managerial occupations smoked, compared with 29% in routine occupations. Many smokers can spend over £2,000 a year on cigarettes.

Aisleyne Horgan-Wallace, ex-housemate on Big Brother 7

No Smoking Day's President is entrepreneur, TV personality and anti-tobacco campaigner Duncan Bannatyne OBE. Mr Bannatyne, an ex-smoker, offered schoolchildren a £2,000 investment to come up with the best idea to help parents give up smoking by asking 7-16 year-olds to Switch Ash for Cash. The competition was won by Shannon Stokes, 9, from Neath, South Wales.

Aisleyne Horgan-Wallace, ex-housemate on Big Brother 7 said, 'Millions of people may have watched me smoke my first ever cigarette live on Big Brother, but what no-one saw was my struggle to quit after the cameras stopped rolling.'

The Mouth Cancer Foundation called for all smokers to think about giving up as smoking is the biggest cause of mouth cancer. The Foundation warned that smokers are six times more likely to develop mouth cancer than non-smokers and that users of smokeless tobacco have a 50 times greater chance of developing mouth cancer.

Founder Dr Vinod Joshi said, 'Mouth cancer can literally wipe the smile off your face. One of the best preventive health measures to take is to kick the tobacco habit.'

Further information is available from http://www.nosmokingday.org.uk.