Advice on Quitting Smoking

There are many benefits to giving up tobacco, not just for your own health but also the health of those around you.

The harmful effects of smoking are widely known and understood ad its greatest single cause of illness and premature death in UK, with approximately 106,000 people dying from smoking – related conditions each year.

Despite these facts the financial costs have to be taken into consideration, many smokers still find it hard to give up for good. This is because like all drugs, nicotine, the active ingredient in tobacco, is addictive and can lead to dependency. What’s more, smoking doesn’t just affect you, husbands’ wives, partners, children and friends can all be affected by second hand smoke.

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Why should I quit?

Smoking puts you at greater risk of developing all kinds of conditions and illnesses, such as mouth and throat cancer, lung cancer, other cancers, fertility issues, coronary heart disease, shortness of breath, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and circulation problems.

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• Mouth and throat cancer: approximately 65% of cancers of the oral cavity (including lips and throat) are caused by smoking in the UK.

• Lung cancer: 80% of the deaths from lung cancer each year are related to smoking.

• Other cancers: including cancer of the nose, pancreas, bladder, cervix and kidneys

• Fertility issues: for both men and women, can increase incidences of erectile dysfunction

  for men.

• Coronary heart disease: smoking is leading cause of cardiovascular disease and smokers

  are almost twice as likely to have a heart attack compared to those never smoked.

• Shortness of breath, coughing and wheezing: These are common due to the damage to

  your lungs caused by chemicals.

• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD): At least 4 out of 5 people who develop

  this disease are, or have been smokers. It causes the lining of the airway to become inflamed

  and permanently damaged by smoke.

• Circulation problems: Chemicals cause hardening of the arteries, which can lead to poor

  circulation, strokes, heart disease and peripheral vascular disease.

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Fact: There are over 4000 different chemicals in tobacco smoke, many of which are poisonous.

Did you know it’s not only yourself who you are damaging, being exposed to someone else’s smoke, through passive smoking, can also cause lung cancer, heart disease and all the other conditions smokers are at risk from.

Children who live with smokers and travel in cars where they are exposed to smoke, may develop asthma and ear infections and smoking around babies can increase the risk of cot death.

Not only that, but if you smoke, your children are 3 times more likely you smoke when they grow up. So, when you consider the effect tobacco could have on a child’s health.

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Smoking whilst pregnant

Protecting your baby from tobacco smoke is one of the best things you can do to give your child a healthy start in life.

Smoking whilst pregnant can lead to many problems for your unborn baby including:

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• Increased risk of miscarriage or premature birth

• An increased risk of still birth or death within the first week of life

• Genetic conditions such as cleft palate

• Low birth weight

• Issues with long term growth and development.​

 

Therefore, to protect the future health of your baby, its vital that you stop smoking as soon as you find out you’re pregnant. In fact, because of the way smoking can affect your fertility, stopping sooner can increase your chances of conceiving.