Trade for prosperity

Stopping smoking is one of the best things you will ever do for your health. Quitting is much easier when you get the right support and there are lots of options to choose from.

Even if you’ve tried before, maybe more than once, you can still succeed. What you’ve already learned will help you reach your goal of becoming an ex-smoker.

“The average smoker can save around £38 a week by quitting smoking. That’s £2000 a year!”

The earlier you quit smoking, the more you’re likely to benefit. But it’s never too late – because quitting will improve your health whatever your age and no matter how long you have smoked.

How stopping smoking can help transform your life

Here’s some of the obvious – and not so obvious – benefits to quitting smoking:

You’ll notice some benefits within days or weeks of stopping smoking:

✚ Your sense of taste and smell will improve

✚ You start to breathe more easily

✚  You have more energy

✚  Other benefits will follow including:

✚  Better blood circulation to your heart and muscles, which will make physical activity easier

✚  Improved lung function, leading to reductions in any cough, wheezing or other breathing problems.

✚ Your longer-term risks of cancer, lung disease and heart disease will be significantly reduced. You will also be less likely to develop Type 2 diabetes, bone disease (including osteoporosis), eye disease and dementia.

✚ You’ll look better as more oxygen will be getting to your skin, making it brighter, and your teeth will no longer be getting stained with tar

✚ You may think that smoking supports your wellbeing and helps you relax and cope with life’s anxieties, but the opposite is true. Stopping smoking boosts mental health and wellbeing. Evidence shows that after the withdrawal stage of quitting, people have reduced anxiety, depression and stress.

✚ People who have quit also have increased positive mood compared with people who want to smoke. It can take as little as six weeks to start feeling the mental health benefits of stopping smoking.

✚ If you have stopped smoking and are physically and mentally happy, you’re more likely to be able to support
your loved ones.

✚ Teens whose parents or caregivers smoke are four times as likely to take up smoking

✚ Quitting also means you’ll protect your loved ones from the potential health harms of secondhand smoke (sometimes called passive smoking). Secondhand smoke is dangerous for anyone exposed to
it, especially for children.

✚ The average smoker can save around £38 a week by quitting smoking. That’s £2000 a year!

“If you can make it to 28 days smoke-free, you are five times more likely to quit for good!”

Quitting Tips

If you’ve made the decision to quit, here are some of the tips to help you succeed:

1| List your reasons to quit

2| Tell people you are quitting

3| If you have tried to quit before, remember what worked

4| Use stop smoking aids

5| Have a plan if you are tempted to smoke

6| List your smoking triggers and how to avoid them

7| Keep cravings at bay by keeping busy

8| Exercise away the urge

9| Join a supporting social group

Download the free NHS Quit Smoking App

Use the NHS Quit Smoking app to help you quit smoking and start breathing easier.

The app allows you to:

✚ Track your progress

✚ See how much you are saving

✚ Get daily support

✚ If you can make it to 28 days smoke-free, you are five times more likely to quit for good!

Where to go for more advice and help

The NHS Better Health ‘Benefits of Quitting Smoking’ has more information about the benefits of quitting and help resources to help you quit smoking. Visit www.nhs.uk/better-health/quit-smoking