Quit Smoking for Africa

SOS Children is launching a new campaign asking smokers to "quit for Africa".

"Even though everyone understands the health benefits" said ex-smoker and fundraising director Kathie Neal "giving up smoking is a long and painful haul which requires sticking power. Knowing that the money you save is directly helping children alone could really help".

Even if they buy some cigarettes abroad, smoking ten cigarettes a day typically costs a smoker between £60 and £120 a month, the same as the cost of 3 to 6 child sponsorships. SOS Children suggests that to increase the satisfaction of quitting and help smokers to celebrate their ongoing achievement they use just 60p a day, a small part of this saving, to sponsor a child in Zambia, Zimbabwe or Malawi, tobacco-growing areas of Africa. SOS Children helps children throughout Africa

"The actual benefit to the African worker from a tobacco smoker is tiny, since the losers when you quit smoking are mainly the tax man and tobacco companies (who get most of the money from cigarettes" explained SOS CEO Andrew Cates "but nonetheless it seems appropriate to give something back to the countries which will lose the export".

All three of Zimbabwe, Malawi and Zambia are in particular need at present. In part the financial crisis and falling commodity prices have resulted in massive job reductions in mining but also in particular all three have significant food shortages, and increasing food prices. In the developing work food is a very large proportion of the family budget. The work of SOS Children in these countries is also very challenged by the exchange rate, since the falling pound has meant that even though more and more people are giving through SOS we cannot grow as quickly in these areas as we need to for the children.