How to use the theme

The 2008 theme is "The Great No Smoking Day Challenge"

There are some great ideas below for making a big impact with the campaign image and slogan. These are just our ideas, so get creative. We'd love to hear your suggestions for using the 2008 theme. Share them with us by emailing enquiries@nosmokingday.org.uk

The Great No Smoking Day Challenge activities

Quitting smoking is, for most smokers, the single best way to improve health - but it's also one of the greatest challenges! There are lots of ways in which you could use the challenge theme in your activities:

Bullseye

Darts board painted red and white or with a no smoking sign; highest mark is for scoring a bullseye
Skittles made out of cardboard tubes, painted to look like cigarettes
Archery
Big Cig doing things like jumping on a circular trampoline with a red target on it
Big Cig doing challenges(and failing miserably) such as long jump, high jump,
Paint the target in the middle of a giant ashtray, make a giant cigarette end to stub out in it

Challenge

Fun run, walk, hop or toddle (with sponsorship for added value!)
Pledge to quit groups -friends, colleagues, families: any group of smokers can get together and challenge each other, with rewards and penalties!
Tug of war between Big Cig and the Challenge Champions
Name that stall!
Great NSD Challenge Sign-up Stall
Join the Great NSD Challenge Here
Great NSD Challenge Stop Shop
Stop Stall for the Great NSD Challenge
Challenge Testing Stations using CO monitors

Use No Smoking Day's posters, balloons and banners to make a great display wherever you are, and have some giveaways on hand to make sure people can take the message home.

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Ideas for different settings

Health centre

Make a big display in a waiting area with a giant target at the centre. Show national and local average smoking prevalence as points on the target (higher figure further out), and have zero smoking prevalence as the bullseye.

Workplace

Organise a workplace stop smoking challenge sweepstake - all quitters put in £10, everyone who stays stopped for a week shares the money (or decides on a charity to benefit). Get a CO monitor and have a "breathe-in" at the start and the end of the week.

Community centre/group

A fun run or walk for quitters and their supporters, perhaps raising funds for a charity of choice.

For young people, try a sports session with some of the games suggested in The Great No Smoking Day Challenge activities section.

Some of these ideas can be adapted for groups of people in any setting: prisons, schools, leisure centres, clubs, or armed forces bases.

Further ideas presentation
There is a more detailed presentation on using The Great No Smoking Day Challenge theme and how to incorporate into your daily work. Cecilia Farren, a well-known health promoter from the organisation GASP, has lots of tips and advice on how to make the most of No Smoking Day.

Cecilia's Presentation Developing The Theme.ppt (4875K)
Cecilia's Presentation Developing The Theme.pdf (4470K)