FOR smokers starting the arduous journey towards quitting today on National No Smoking Day, Kathleen Woodall has one piece of advice: “You are not alone”.

The 58-year-old has first hand experience of the struggle to kick the habit.

She and husband James, 65, have sparked up about one million cigarettes between them as they smoked 20 to 30 a day over 50 years.

Today, health chiefs are urging people to mark National No Smoking Day by making a vow to join the 3,500 smokers they help to quit every year.

Mrs Woodall, of Chadlington, near Chipping Norton, said she and her husband could not have given up without the support of the NHS Oxfordshire Stop Smoking service.

They were given nicotine replacement therapy patches and inhalators, a device which mimics a cigarette for smokers who need to keep their hands busy.

She said: “I would say to anyone thinking about giving up, don’t do it alone.

“It’s tough but if you are given the right support it can be done.”

The couple vowed to give up after 65-year-old Mr Woodall suffered a heart attack.

Mrs Woodall said: “I was so scared when that happened. I knew we both had to quit smoking and I was prepared to do whatever it took to make sure he was happy and healthy again.”

Most people who choose to quit spend 12 weeks on this type of nicotine replacement therapy at an average cost to the NHS of £204.

Laura Wardak, from NHS Oxfordshire said: “The Oxfordshire Smoking Advice Service is here to support people when they are ready to quit smoking and we want smokers in Oxfordshire to know that their local NHS Stop Smoking Service is here to help them all year round.”

Events are being held across Oxfordshire in shopping precincts, colleges, workplaces and leisure centres throughout the week.

The Oxfordshire Smoking Advice Service Helpline is on 0845 40 80 300 from Monday to Friday during office hours.

The NHS recommends nicotine replacement therapy via gum, patches which absorb nicotine into the bloodstream, tabs that are placed under the tongue and lozenges.

It also offers cigarette-shaped inhalators, which release nicotine vapour when sucked, and nicotine nasal spray.