Say no to smoke and bag yourself a date this Valentine’s Day

Pick up a free Quit Kit from your local pharmacy

Today (14 February 2012) is the most romantic day of the year and it looks like the recipe to finding a smokin’ hot date is simple – quit smoking.

New research from the Department of Health shows that if you are looking for a date this Valentine’s Day then be sure to keep away from cigarettes if you want to increase your chances of success.

Among people polled, it was the 18-24 year olds who were most put off by the smell of cigarettes.

• seventy four per cent claimed they would not kiss someone who had just smoked;
• seventy six per cent agreed that smoking makes people less attractive; and
• sixty four per cent of 35-44 year olds said they would refuse a kiss from a smoker.

As well as leaving a bad taste in the mouth of your date, 47 per cent of those polled said that if they knew someone was a smoker they would think twice about starting a serious relationship. So, people who want to stay one step ahead of the game this Valentine’s Day should put an end to their habit and quit today.

This is backed up by data from the relationship sites eHarmony.co.uk, mysinglefriend.com and Match.com, which shows that smoking habits can have a significant impact on the search for love. On eHarmony.co.uk eighty-one per cent of all members stated they would not partner with a heavy smoker; at Match.com seventy-two per cent of male members and seventy-three per cent of female members said “No Way” when it comes to smoking and at mysinglefriend.com over sixty-seven per cent of respondents said smoking would put them off dating someone.

Sarah Beeny, host of Channel 4’s Property Ladder and brainchild of mysinglefriend.com, said: “Smoking is clearly a key factor in determining a list of possible matches on a dating website.

“Whilst obviously people aren’t permanently a smoker in many cases and some people can see past this – it does clearly influence a person’s decision to date you. It’s particularly obvious that non-smokers find it harder to live with a smoker, so by giving up you not only increase your dating market, but will protect the years your have together when you do settle down – get quitting!“

Astonishingly, over eight million people in England still smoke and sadly, 50 per cent of these are likely to die from smoking related diseases if they do not quit. By quitting smoking, smokers could increase their life expectancy by 16 years and save thousands of pounds.

To help you quit smoking free Quit Kits are now available from your local pharmacy. To find your nearest Quit Kit pharmacy stockist text SEARCH and your postcode to 88088 or search online at nhs.uk/smokefree. For help and advice on quitting smoking visit http://smokefree.nhs.uk/

Top tips for quitting smoking

• Visit your local pharmacy and pick up a free NHS Quit Kit
• Sign up to the free Text service by texting TIPS to 63818
• Set yourself goals and look at how much money you are saving each week