By If you're struggling to give up smoking for good, then maybe a stand-up comedian could do the trick?
Bill Bailey, Al Murray, Rhod Gilbert and Shappi Khorsandi have joined up with Stoptober for this year's mass quit campaign next month, by sending out quirky messages of support to your phones and tablets for free.
The 28-day October campaign follows last year's success which saw around 260,000 people take part.
Bailey explained to Digital Spy that he has had "firsthand" experience with giving up smoking, and that he is excited about Stoptober's "positive" message.
He said: "I smoked as a teenager, I had to give up because of my asthma, which is quite a pressing need! Smoking was not really an option for me.
"My wife was a very committed smoker, and smoked for about 20 years, and only recently gave up entirely. So I've been through the whole process of seeing how hard it is. It's very difficult to sustain having quit. She gave up twice in the 20 years, once for about a year, but then went back to cigarettes. It was only really the e-cigarettes that helped her get out of the transitional phase.
"Something like this is a great idea, because if everyone's talking about it there's a much greater awareness of it. I think people who try to give up, it's almost so hard because there's not enough support around, that it becomes insurmountable. If enough people talk about it, like friends and family as well, then that makes it a lot easier."
He added: "For people who are not smokers would maybe think 'just stop!', and you think 'no, no, no, it's so much more difficult than that, it's really hard'. A lot of people will try to stop, then they realize how hard it is. People just sort of accept that they're smokers and can't get out of that cycle. This 'mass-quit' is a sort of way that might actually have an effect."
The comics' messages of support will be sent out via an app as those who are taking part get through October without picking up a cigarette.
Registration opens today (September 3) and runs for 28 days from October 1. To sign up and access the free support materials, head over to www.smokefree.nhs.uk/Stoptober.
