An 'Alice in Wonderland' theme built on the 'Time to Quit' theme and helped to create a really eye-catching event.
Face painting is one of many activities that can be used to create a really unique No Smoking Day.
Derbyshire Stop Smoking Service celebrates a highly successful No Smoking Day.
Big Cig appears all over the country on No Smoking Day. Here he pops up as part of the Military campaign at HMS Torbay.
Big Cig pops up on HMS Dauntless as part of the Military No Smoking Day campaign.
Street art helps direct quitters to a stop smoking event for No Smoking Day 2011.
Each year lots of schools get involved. This school created calendars drawing on the 'Time to Quit' theme.
Phoenix Stop Smoking Service creates an imaginative 'Alice in Wonderland' themed No Smoking Day event.
City and Hackney Stop Smoking Service prepares a No Smoking Day stand in a local supermarket.
City and Hackney Stop Smoking Service used No Smoking Day as a hook to bring smokers into their service.
Big Cig gets a dental lesson. Creative photos like this often make it into local press.
Local mascots and celebrities make good photo opportunities and ensure that the campaign is relevant to local people. 
In Northern Ireland props are used to attract attention and communicate the message.
In Plymouth the Stop Smoking Service made the most of the 2011 theme by forming a human clock in a local shopping centre. 
Each year we produce a new image and slogan which help campaigners to promote the day to smokers across the UK.
Educational activities highlight the dangers of smoking and promote the benefits of a smoke free life.
This prison service worked with inmates to create a time capsule containing smokers' aspirations for a smokefree future.
Big Cig scales a climbing wall in one of many publicity stunts that happen on No Smoking Day each year. 
No Smoking Day is about creating positive messages and helping smokers who want a smoke free life.
This school made posters to encourage smokers to quit. Educational activities help children understand the dangers of tobacco.
No Smoking Day is a time to get creative. The most eye-catching and unusual events tend to have the most impact.
In Plymouth a singer re-interprets the lyrics of a popular classic making it relevant to No Smoking Day. 
Press and radio coverage is a vital part of the campaign. Each year local organisers gain coverage across the media. 
This striking display highlights the huge range of smoking related illnesses. It also created an unusual and intriguing display. 
Not everyone has access to an army helicopter! Nonetheless, we are astounded each year by the creative uses of Big Cig.
This impressive stunt involved abseiling down the side of the old Tobacco Factory building in Bristol.
Trick photography like this makes a great image to send to a local paper. This image was inspired by 'Time to Quit' in 2011.
The 'Time to Quit' theme is echoed in this human clock. Photo opportunities like this help to generate press coverage.
Big Cig is carted off to casualty. He is the mascot everyone loves to hate and helps to inject and element of fun into the day.
This 'Time to Quit' tardis used age progression software to take smokers into the 'future' showing them how they might look.
Big Cig struggles to keep up in this No Smoking Day sack race. Notice the slogans on the sacks which promote well being. 
Buying No Smoking Day merchandise from our online shop is a perfect way to brand a stall making it colourful and eye-catching.
These young people tell Big Cig that his time is up! No Smoking Day is a powerful opportunity to educate young people. 
Two Big Cigs duel with giant matches in a stunt to raise awareness on Military No Smoking Day 2011. Press release : No Smoking Day's future – and thousands more quitters – assured
The future of an organisation that helps hundreds of thousands of people attempt to quit smoking has been assured.
Prompted by a cut in statutory funding for No Smoking Day (NSD) and the fact quitting smoking is the single best thing you can do for your heart, NSD and the British Heart Foundation (BHF) have announced they intend to merge.
Amit Aggarwal, Chief Executive of No Smoking Day, said: "No Smoking Day is one of the UK's longest-standing and most successful public health campaigns. But like many charities we've been severely affected by public sector cuts with 50 per cent of our total funding wiped out from next year. Fortunately, we've found a stable, long-term future for No Smoking Day with the BHF."
"This will provide secure funding for the campaign and a platform for growth, a rare opportunity in the current climate."
Betty McBride, Director of Policy and Communications at the BHF, said: "By joining forces we can enhance the No Smoking Day campaign and extend its reach – helping more people to quit – as well as strengthening our policy and lobbying work. For both organisations, the opportunities posed by this merger were too good to miss."
No Smoking Day supports thousands of local organisations across the UK, such as GP surgeries, schools, and employers, to host their own quit-smoking events on a single day. As well as promoting resources to help people quit, each organiser can highlight any or all of the range of health harms of smoking from heart disease and cancer through to the cosmetic effects on skin and teeth. This template will continue after the merger with plans well underway for No Smoking Day 2012.
More than 9 million UK adults still smoke, which equates to one in five. No Smoking Day is directly responsible for 250,000 people attempting to quit smoking each year. About 6,000 quit permanently, which means the campaign costs about £125 per person to help them quit for good. In contrast, it's estimated that smoking costs the NHS between £2.7bn and £5.2bn a year in the UK.
ENDS
Media requiring more information can contact Jenny Legg on 020 7554 0186 or email leggj@bhf.org.uk
Notes to editors:
No Smoking Day has run for 28 years consecutively and has an annual budget of approximately £500,000.
The two permanent members of staff for No Smoking Day are moving to the British Heart Foundation's head office at Mornington Crescent, London.
The merger has been formally agreed by the trustees of both charities and NSD's member organisations, and the legal process will complete at the end of March 2012.
The British Heart Foundation is the nation's heart charity, dedicated to saving lives through pioneering research, patient care, campaigning for change and by providing vital information. It was established 50 years ago in 1961, and its income for 2010/11 was £125.2 million.