Smoking

Cigarettes contain nicotine, an extremely poisonous substance that also happens to be addictive.

Other chemicals in cigarettes can contribute to cancer or dissolve the lining of your lungs. Most smokers think that their addiction won’t kill them. Unfortunately, the facts don’t show this – if you regularly smoke there’s a 50:50 chance that it will kill you.

The problem with smoking...

• Cost – smokers can spend over £2000 each year on cigarettes
• Looks – yellow teeth, loss of teeth, wrinkles on your face, greyish skin, more fat around tummy.
• Smell – smelly clothes and smelly breath.
• Danger to other people – smoking around family, friends and pets could contribute to their ill health
• The environment – smoking contributes to pollution (e.g. lots of sprays and chemicals are needed to grow the tobacco in cigarettes).  

Giving up

• Try to avoid places where you usually smoke, or doing things that make you want to smoke (such as drinking alcohol, having a coffee or getting stressed or anxious).

• Let your friends and family know you want to give up so that they offer support.

• You might need particular help, such as nicotine patches/gum, hypnotherapy (hypnosis) or acupuncture. Ask your doctor for advice or contact the special National Health Service Smokefree helpline on 0800 022 4332 (open 7am to 11pm every day).

• You could also contact Quit, the non-smoking charity.

• Not being able to stop right away doesn’t make you weak so try not to lose hope.

The health benefits of NOT smoking

Within just a few days of quitting, your body starts to recover. Over time, the risk of getting a serious disease from smoking gets lower and lower.