Today is National No Smoking Day, a day to encourage people to take the plunge and quit their smoking habit.  We are all aware of the negative effects that smoking has on our overall health and wellbeing, but kicking the habit can be hard.

On National No Smoking Day, there are lots of additional resources available to help you on your way. You can join the #TellUsYourWay campaign by posting on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter and sharing how you’re going to quit, or if you have already stopped you can help others by sharing what worked for you.

There are also dedicated pages on the NHS website, British Heart Foundation website and the Smoke Free website, all of which are packed with information and tips to help you quit smoking.

Here in the Faculty, we are also doing our bit to encourage people to stop smoking. Dr. Klonizakis (a Reader at the Centre for Sport and Exercise Science, with experience in community-based, lifestyle interventions) is leading a study, which attempts to explore the effects of e-cigarettes on the arteries and small veins in people making a stop-smoking attempt. Although e-cigarettes have been widely used as a stop smoking tool by millions of people around the globe, their physiological effects are largely unknown: this exciting study, which is funded by Heart Research UK and brings together SHU and King’s College London researchers, will attempt to fill the knowledge gap, helping – at the same time – people to quit smoking via three different methods. The study has been running since April 2017 and will continue until June 2020.

So, if you are a current smoker who wishes to stop smoking and would be interested in being supported in your stop smoking attempt by experienced advisors and use either e-cigarettes or the NHS stop smoking services, then please get in touch.

All participants will be randomly allocated to one of the three study groups. In one group, participants will receive free nicotine-rich e-cigarettes and refills for a 3-month period as well as advice on how to successfully stop smoking. In the second group, participants will receive similar advice as well as complimentary, nicotine-free e-cigarettes and refills for a 3-month period.

Finally, the third group of participants will be referred to the NHS stop smoking services and will be reimbursed by the research team for their stop smoking prescription expenses. Participation in the study will be free and assessments will take place in Collegiate Hall in Collegiate Crescent Campus of Sheffield Hallam University. Participants using their own transport will receive complimentary parking.

To receive more information, please contact Dr. Gareth Jones (01142254312, HeartResearch@shu.ac.uk) and/or visit the study website.