The number of smokers in England is about 8 million. According to the Department of Health, smoking is the biggest cause of early death in the country. Smokers in England have been asked to give up smoking for 28 days this month, in an action backed by Cancer Research UK and the British Heart Foundation. Research shows people who manage not to light up for this length of time are 5 times more likely to kick the habit. Public health experts say campaigns that include a combination of hard-hitting ads and supportive messages work best. Quitting smoking can be difficult. However, people are much more likely to succeed if other people are doing the same than if they try to do it alone and _ . Robert West, Director of Tobacco Studies at University College London, points out how pressure from people around can prevent a smoker going on smoking. "We are social animals," he said. The action has met some doubts among readers of the BBC News Online website. Some compared it to asking people to stop eating as a way of fighting overweight. Others doubt the action's effectiveness. "Its weakness is that it fails to explain why a person smokes, and the reasons are as many as the number of smokers", says someone who signed as BluesBerry. Another reader, Cazz, has decided to give it some credit. He says:" Campaigns like this won't necessarily inspire the majority of smokers to quit, but may encourage those thinking about quitting to set a date and try. Surely it's worth a shot. " What does the text mainly talk about?
A new action to quit smoking. A way of fighting overweight. A country with the most smokers. The biggest cause of early death.