Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Smoke it out

Post Thumbnail

Stoptober is in full swing, helping smokers quit for good. We reveals our top tips for stubbing out.

BE PREPARED

The key to quitting for good is to make a plan that works for you, advises the NHS Smokefree campaign. To help you get motivated, think about the benefits of stopping smoking, like better health for you and your family, and saving lots of money.
:: Write down your top three reasons for quitting and put them in a place where you’ll see them every day – like on the fridge.
:: Choose a date to quit and commit to it.
:: Think about how you’ll deal with tempting situations and what you’ll say if someone invites you to have a cigarette.

CHANGE YOUR ROUTINE

Many smokers can’t resist a fag when they’re having a drink, so if that’s you, you’ve got a much better chance of quitting successfully if you avoid the pub. Nobody’s saying don’t ever drink again, just do something else until you’ve mastered this non-smoking lark and your cravings have eased. Also, put the money you save from not smoking (and briefly not drinking) in a jar, watch it mount up and buy yourself a big treat with it at the end of a successful Stoptober.

LAUNCH A DOUBLE ATTACK

Studies show you’re up to four times more likely to quit successfully if you use a combination of stop smoking medicine and specialist help and support.
Professor John Britton, director of the UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies, agrees that a two-pronged approach to quitting has the most chance of success.
“The best way to quit is to combine pharmacotherapy – nicotine replacement therapy (two forms – patch and short-acting, such as inhalator, or if smokers prefer, patch plus personal vapouriser), or varenicline tablets – with behavioural therapy from a trained counsellor, such as those working for NHS Stop Smoking Services.”

FIND HELP

Don’t do this alone. Local NHS Stop Smoking Services provide expert advice and support to help you quit for good. They offer free one-to-one support, usually starting a few weeks before you quit, and advisers can help keep you on the no-smoking road, and even measure your carbon monoxide levels and show you how it drops to the same level as a non-smoker’s just 24 hours after your last cigarette. The service can also offer stop smoking medicines. Find details of your local service at www.nhs.uk/smokefree

THE DRUGS DO WORK

Stop smoking medicines, including Champix tablets (varenicline), Zyban tablets (bupropion), and nicotine replacement therapies (NRT), such as patches, gum, lozenges, microtabs, inhalators and nasal sprays, can really help quitters manage nicotine withdrawal symptoms. They’re available on prescription, and NRT can also be bought over-the-counter from pharmacies and supermarkets.

E-CIGS OR GUMS?

They’re still slightly controversial (with many experts calling for better regulation for them), but a large University College London study earlier this year did seem to support the use of e-cigs, showing that people attempting to quit smoking without professional help are around 60% more likely to succeed if they use e-cigarettes than if they use willpower alone or over-the-counter NRT such as patches or gum.

Call the free Smokefree national helpline on 0300 123 1044, or order a free Quit Kit from quitnow.smokefree.nhs.uk/