Stop Smoking Service

It’s never too late to give up smoking – whatever your age. Giving up drastically reduces the risk of a heart attack – within five years your risk is half that of a smoker's and after ten years it is the same as a non-smoker's.

There are other advantages too – you reduce your risk of lung cancer and lung diseases such as emphysema. You will be able to breathe more easily, have a better sense of taste and smell, and generally feel much fitter. Not only that but your complexion will improve and you’ll have a lot more money in your pocket!

Top tips

Dealing with the urge to smoke can of course be difficult but there are some useful tips to getting through this:

• Wait until the craving passes – you may find the urge only lasts a few minutes
• Drink some water – helps avoid smoking and takes your mind of smoking
• Distract yourself – do not try and justify ‘just one cigarette’
• Remind yourself why you wanted to quit
• Avoid social situations where you would normally smoke until you are ready
• Watch out for signs of stress and try and diffuse them eg through a brisk walk, a chat with a friend
• Seek support from your local pharmacist who will have lots of practical advice around managing your weight, cholesterol and blood pressure as you give up – as well as helping you monitor the positive results!

FAQs

Will I have any side effects when I quit?

Giving up smoking is difficult because the body is addicted to nicotine. When you give up you may become irritable, depressed or restless and have difficult concentrating. These feelings will pass though and it is important to persevere, as the benefits will last a lifetime.

Will I gain weight when I give up smoking?

This is not inevitable but many quitters do gain a little extra weight. Don’t replace your cigarettes with lots of sweets or fatty snacks – choose fruit instead. It’s not worth smoking to keep your weight down – eating healthily and exercising can easily lose a few extra pounds!

What are the health benefits of stopping smoking?

After 20 minutes: Blood pressure returns to normal
After 8 hours: Carbon monoxide levels in the blood return to normal
After 24 hours: The risk of heart attack begins to fall
After 1 week: The sense of taste and smell starts to improve
After 1 year: The risk of developing heart disease is reduced to about half that of a smoker

How can my pharmacist help?

By stopping smoking it is well know that you can drastically improve your health. Smokers are at risk of suffering not only from cancer related illness but also from high cholesterol, high blood pressure and heart disease. In fact one quarter of deaths from coronary heart disease are smoking related. Our pharmacist can give advice on managing these effects from weight management through to cholesterol, blood pressure and diabetes it’s worth seeking advice.

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