No Smoking Day 2025
Pancreatic cancer is the deadliest of all the common cancers. It has seen little to no improvement in its survival rates for close to 50 years. At Pancreatic Cancer Action, we focus on campaigning to improve earlier diagnosis and to save lives. However, we also campaign to reduce the risk of people ever developing pancreatic cancer.
Smoking is the greatest modifiable risk factor for pancreatic cancer and is responsible for approximately 22% of all pancreatic cancer cases. However, research has shown that risk can be reduced once a person has quit smoking. As pancreatic cancer is the deadliest cancer of all the common cancers, any effort to reduce risk is crucial.
We are lobbying Governments in all four nations to invest more in supporting people to quit smoking and to introduce new policies to stop new people from taking up smoking.
In Scotland, we have joined the Scottish Coalition on Tobacco (SCOT) to lend our weight to those campaigning to shape change for a positive future for the public health of Scotland.
We are also members of Non-Communicable Disease Alliance Scotland, a coalition of health organisations working to reduce the burden of non-communicable diseases through action on tobacco, alcohol and unhealthy foods.
12th March 2025 is No Smoking Day, and we are supporting the campaign by highlighting the benefits that can be gained by quitting smoking.
Here are just some of the benefits of quitting:
- Your health starts to improve within hours of stopping smoking. After 20 minutes your heart rate and blood pressure drop, after two to three months, your lung function and circulation improve and after five years your risk of many cancers is reduced.
- If you smoke 11 cigarettes a day, you could save on average, £1,239 within 6 months of quitting!
- Risk of pancreatic cancer starts to decrease 10 years after quitting and the risk fully reverses to that of a never-smoker 20 years after quitting.
- Diabetes is not only a risk factor for pancreatic cancer but also an illness that long-term smokers can develop. 5 years after quitting, the risk of diabetes occurring returns to that of a non-smoker.
The theme is ‘Quit and Win’ and we are encouraging people who smoke to quit and win with their physical health, mental wellbeing and personal finances when they leave tobacco behind.
For No Smoking Day, we want to signpost people who may need help to give up smoking.
You can find support in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland below:
Smoking is just one pancreatic cancer risk factor. Age, genetics, excess alcohol, obesity and pancreatic disorders can all have an impact and increase your chance of developing the disease. You can find out more here.