Health and Wellbeing - Smoking Cessation
Smoking is the single greatest cause of preventable ill-health in the UK.
When an individual smokes, the nicotine from the cigarette rapidly enters the body and immediately has negative effects on the body including:
- Increased blood pressure and heart rate
- Increased risk of cancer particularly in the lungs
- Increased risk of heart attack
- Affected fertility
- Respiratory problems
- Reduced circulation
Individuals often express the desire to quit for reasons such as money, family, health issues but don’t find it easy without any support from nicotine replacement therapies and the support from others.
Top tips to stop smoking successfully:
- Choose a date to stop and stick to it - cutting down gradually does not work!
- Throw away all of your cigarettes - bin the temptation
- Keep drinking water. Try different flavours to flush it out of your system
- Think positive - when you start feeling rough, view this as a good sign that tabacco is being removed
- Exercise - the more you do it, the more you'll want to do it and the easier you will relax
- Fight routine - avoid any time/situations where temptation is highest, eg pub
- Don't let yourself have 'just one'. If you're addicted, it will lead to more
- Splash out - no cigarettes means more money so treat yourself!
- Snack attack - don't worry about the desire to eat more, just aim to eat healthy snacks
- Make your house and living environments smoke free
- Don't think of it as a lifetime battle - thank one day at a time
- Finally - if you do have one cigarette, don't give up thinking you've failed ... keep going!
The Health Trainers
The Health Trainer Service is a free personal service to motivate and support you to make lifestyle changes and lead a healthier life. The Health Trainer will offer information and encouragement on a one-to-one basis, working step by step to make changes.
If you are registered with a GP in Stafford Borough and would like individualised support to stop smoking you can access the Health Trainer Service free of charge. Call 01785 619167 for more information, or to find your nearest Stop Smoking service call 0345 245 0759.
