Stop Smoking

Health concerns usually top the list of reasons people give for quitting smoking.

Nearly everyone knows that smoking can cause lung cancer, but few people realise it is also a risk factor for many other kinds of cancer as well.

These can include cancer of the mouth, voice box (larynx), throat (pharynx), oesophagus, bladder, kidney, pancreas, liver, cervix, stomach, colon, rectum and some leukaemia’s. For more information on this topic, please see our document "Cigarette Smoking."

Smoking increases the risk of lung diseases such as emphysema and chronic bronchitis. These progressive lung diseases - grouped under the term COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) - are usually diagnosed in current or former smokers in their 60s and 70s. COPD causes chronic illness and disability and is eventually fatal.

Smokers are twice as likely to die from heart attacks compared to non-smokers. Smoking is also a major risk factor for peripheral vascular disease, a narrowing of the blood vessels that carry blood to the leg and arm muscles.

Smoking also causes premature wrinkling of the skin, bad breath, bad smelling clothes and hair and yellow fingernails.

For women, there are unique risks. Women over 35 who smoke and use "the pill" (oral contraceptives) are in a high-risk group for heart attack, stroke and blood clots of the legs. Women who smoke are more likely to have a miscarriage or a lower birth-weight baby.

Some data estimates that adult male smokers lost an average of 13.2 years of life and female smokers lost 14.5 years of life because of smoking.

No matter what your age or how long you've smoked, quitting will help you live longer. People who stop smoking before the age of 35 avoid 90% of the health risks attributable to tobacco. Even those who quit later in life can significantly reduce their risk of dying at a younger age.

Ex-smokers also enjoy a higher quality of life with fewer illnesses from cold and flu viruses, better self-reported health status, and reduced rates of bronchitis and pneumonia.

For decades Government bodies have reported the health risks associated with smoking. Regardless of your age or smoking history, there are advantages to quitting smoking. Benefits apply whether you are healthy or you already have smoking-related diseases.

• Quitting smoking has major and immediate health benefits for men and women of all ages. Benefits apply to people with and without smoking-related disease.
• Former smokers live longer than continuing smokers. For example, people who quit smoking before age 50 have one-half the risk of dying in the next 15 years compared with continuing smokers.
• Quitting smoking decreases the risk of lung cancer, other cancers, heart attack, stroke and chronic lung disease.
• Women who stop smoking before pregnancy or during the first 3 to 4 months of pregnancy reduce their risk of having a low birth weight baby to that of women who never smoked.
• The health benefits of quitting smoking far exceed any risks from the average 5-pound weight gain or any adverse psychological effects that may follow quitting.

QUIT!!!

Here is some simple advice to help you quit. However, it comes down to you and your own will to want to quit:

Ask family and friends for support.

If you smoke a lot of cigarettes start by cutting down.

Identify times when you usually smoke and find something different to do!

Make smoking difficult by removing things such as ashtrays.

Try and save the money you would spend on smoking and reward yourself with it!

You may need extra help so please go to professional bodies such as the NHS and your doctor.