AS GLOBAL health organisations commemorated World No Tobacco Day yesterday, many South African smokers continued huffing and puffing

The initiative, started by the World Health Organisation in 1987, encourages smokers to refrain from any form of tobacco use for a period of 24 hours.

But many South African smokers claimed they were unaware of the initiative.

Denver Moodley said though he found out late in the day about the initiative, he would try to stop smoking for a day.

"I only found out about it from you but I would have tried to quit just for 24 hours," he said.

Durban mother Chantel Thomas said she heard on the radio about World No Tobacco Day but was too stressed to quit.

"My workload is stressful and smoking is my way of calming myself down," she said. Jabu Mchunu started smoking three months ago but was "already hooked".

"I tried to quit but I can't. The challenge is being able to socialise with smokers when you are trying to quit.

"I quit for two weeks but couldn't go out with my friends or in public because I knew if I saw someone smoking I would give in to the craving," he said.

Gerald Mahabeer started smoking when he was 17 years old.

"I once stopped smoking for a month. I saved a lot of money but the craving soon got the better of me," he said.

"I read about World No Tobacco Day on Facebook and decided to stop smoking for 24 hours. If I can get through today without it then I might try to quit again."

Peter Ucko, director of the National Council Against Smoking, said World No Tobacco Day was highly publicised and that most South Africans knew that it was being commemorated yesterday.

"It is not only smokers who are affected by smoking but also non-smokers since they want clear and unpolluted oxygen," he said.

"Quitting smoking for a day can make a huge difference to smokers' health since they will immediately feel signs of improvement in the rate of their heartbeat and oxygen flow. Those in the process of quitting do suffer from withdrawal symptoms such as headaches but cravings last for a minute and a half."

According to WHO, No Tobacco Day creates global awareness about the dangers of smoking which leads to over 5,4 million deaths annually worldwide.