Tag: smoking

Healthy Heart Tip: Make a plan to stop smoking

Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip, written by Dr Helen Flaherty, Head of Health Promotion and Education at Heart Research UK

Make a plan to stop smoking

Although rates of smoking have decreased in the UK in recent years, approximately 6.9 million people over the age of 18 are smokers. Smoking harms almost all organs in the body and it is a leading cause of preventable death.

Smoking can damage your heart and blood vessels, which increases your risk of having a heart attack. Quitting smoking can be difficult, but it is an important step for reducing your risk of heart disease. We provide some tips to help you stop smoking. 

List the reasons to stop smoking

If you want to stop smoking, an effective and simple thing you can do to stay on track is to write a list of the reasons why you wish to quit smoking. Whenever you feel the urge to smoke, you can read this list and it should inspire you to keep going.

Decide when to stop

As soon as you stop smoking, your risk of heart disease will reduce. The sooner you decide to quit the better. Choose a date within the next two weeks. If you leave it too long, you will give yourself time to change your mind.

Make a plan

Make a plan to quit smoking and ask your friends, family and co-workers for their support. Identify triggers that make you want to smoke and work out how you will overcome them in advance. For example, if you usually smoke during your break at work, plan to go for a walk instead.

Manage your cravings

Cigarette cravings are intense urges to smoke and they can last for 5 minutes. Quitting smoking requires a huge amount of willpower. When you get a craving, try to distract yourself for 5-10 minutes until it passes. You could try planning a healthy dinner or plan a route for a cycle ride or a walk. Once the craving has passed, you can give yourself a pat on the back.

Get support

Getting support to stop smoking can increase your chances of success. You could try contacting your local Stop Smoking Services or chatting to your GP. You could also seek advice from a friend or family member who has successfully stopped smoking or someone who is also trying to quit. You could also consider using a stop smoking aid, such as nicotine patches, gums, lozenges or nazal sprays to help stop the cravings.

You can get further support with stopping smoking from the NHS: 

https://www.nhs.uk/smokefree.

Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip: Smoking

Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip, written by Dr Helen Flaherty, Head of Health Promotion at Heart Research UK

SMOKING

In the UK around 6.9 million people over the age of 18 smoke. Although rates of smoking have decreased in recent years, the number of people who smoke remains high.

Smoking harms almost all organs in the body and it is the leading cause of preventable deaths in England. Smoking can damage your blood vessels and heart, which increases your risk of having a heart attack.

Quitting smoking can be very difficult, but it is an important step for reducing your risk of heart disease. We provide some tips for stopping smoking below.

List your reasons for stopping smoking

If you are trying to quit smoking, an effective and simple thing you can do to stay on track is to write a list of the reasons why you wish to quit smoking. Whenever you feel the urge to smoke, you can read this list and it should inspire you to keep going.

Decide a time

As soon as you stop smoking, your risk of heart disease will reduce. The sooner you decide to quit the better. Try to choose a date within the next two weeks. If you leave it too long, you will give yourself time to change your mind.

Make a plan for when you quit

Make a plan to quit smoking and ask your friends, family and co-workers for their support. Identify the triggers that make you feel like smoking and work out how to deal with them in advance. For example, if you hang around with other people who smoke, you could plan to spend more time with non-smokers or do smoke-free activities with friends who are smokers.

If you usually smoke during your break at work, plan to go for a walk instead. Dealing with cigarette withdrawal can be tough and it can lead to you feeling emotional and upset. Before quitting, ask people to be patient and understanding and remind yourself that these feelings are temporary.

Distract yourself when you get cravings

Cigarette cravings are intense urges to smoke. Quitting smoking requires a huge amount of willpower. Cigarette cravings are temporary and they can last for 5 minutes. To avoid giving in to cigarette cravings, try to distract yourself for 5-10 minutes. You could try doing some physical activity or a bit of housework, do a bit of colouring in or planning a healthy dinner. Once the craving has passed, you can give yourself a pat on the back.

You could also consider using a stop smoking aid, such as nicotine patches, gums, lozenges or nasal sprays to help stop the cravings.

Get support to stop smoking

There is a lot of support available for people who want to stop smoking. Getting support with stopping smoking can increase your chances of success. You could try contacting your local Stop Smoking Services or chatting to your GP. If you know someone who is also trying to quit smoking, you could offer to support each other. You could also seek advice from a friend or family member who has successfully stopped smoking.

You can get further support with stopping smoking and a free Personal Quit Plan from the NHS: https://www.nhs.uk/smokefree.

For more healthy tips, recipes and advice, visit heartresearch.org.uk

Stop tobacco industry exploitation of children and young people, says WHO

The World Health Organization has launched a new kit for school students aged 13-17 to alert them to the tobacco industry tactics used to hook them to addictive products.

Every year the tobacco industry invests more than USD 9 billion to advertise its products. Increasingly, it is targeting young people with nicotine and tobacco products in a bid to replace the 8 million people that its products kill every year.

This year’s WHO’s World No Tobacco Day (31 May) campaign focuses on protecting children and young people from exploitation by the tobacco and related industry.

The toolkit has a set of classroom activities including one that puts the students in the shoes of the tobacco industry to make them aware of how the industry tries to manipulate them into using deadly products. It also includes an educational video, myth-buster quiz, and homework assignments.

The toolkit exposes tactics such as parties and concerts hosted by the tobacco and related industries, e-cigarette flavours that attract youth like bubble-gum and candy, e-cigarette representatives presenting in schools, and product placement in popular youth  streaming shows.

Even during a global pandemic, the tobacco and nicotine industry persist by pushing products that limit people’s ability to fight coronavirus and recover from the disease. The industry has offered free branded masks and delivery to your door during quarantine and has lobbied for their products to be listed as ‘essential’.

Smoking suffocates the lungs and other organs, starving them of the oxygen they need to develop and function properly.

“Educating youth is vital because nearly 9 out of 10 smokers start before age 18. We want to provide young people with the knowledge to speak out against tobacco industry manipulation,” said Ruediger Krech, Director for Health Promotion at WHO.

Over 40 million young people aged 13-15 have already started to use tobacco. To reach Generation Z, WHO launched a TikTok dance challenge and welcomed social media partners like Pinterest, Tinder, YouTube and TikTok to amplify messaging.

WHO calls on all sectors to help stop marketing tactics of tobacco and related industries that prey on children and young people:

  • Schools refuse any form of sponsorship and prohibit representatives from nicotine and tobacco companies from speaking to students
  • Celebrities and influencers reject all offers of sponsorship
  • Television and streaming services stop showing tobacco or e-cigarette use on screen
  • Social media platforms ban the marketing of tobacco and related products and prohibit influencer marketing
  • Government and financial sector divest from tobacco and related industries
  • Governments ban all forms of tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship

Countries can protect children from industry exploitation by putting in place strict tobacco control laws, including regulating products like e-cigarettes that have already begun to hook a new generation of young people.

 

Smokers at greater risk of severe respiratory disease from COVID-19

Emerging evidence from China shows smokers with COVID-19 are 14 times more likely to develop severe respiratory disease.

If you smoke, you are not only putting yourself at greater risk of developing severe disease from the COVID-19 virus, but those around you exposed to second hand smoke, including children, are also put at increased risk.

Smoking tobacco is known to damage the lungs and airways causing a range of severe respiratory problems. The evidence clearly shows COVID-19 virus attacks the respiratory system, which explains why smokers are at greater risk. A small but highly impactful survey from China finds that smokers with COVID-19 are 14 times more likely to develop severe disease.

In addition, the repetitive hand to mouth movement provides an easy route of entry for the virus, putting smokers at greater risk of contracting COVID-19.

Professor John Newton, Director of Health Improvement at Public Health England said: “In light of this unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, there has never been a more important time to stop smoking. Not only for your own health but to protect those around you.

“It will also help alleviate the huge pressures on the NHS.

“It is never too late to quit, no matter your age.”

Once smokefree, there are very real health benefits with the body continuing to repair the longer you stay smokefree.

The more immediate benefits include:

  • after 48 hours carbon monoxide is eliminated from the body. Lungs start to clear out mucus and other smoking debris
  • after 72 hours breathing becomes easier as bronchial tubes begin to relax
  • after 2 to 12 weeks blood circulation improves, making physical activity like walking and running easier

To help reduce your risk of contracting the virus and developing severe disease from coronavirus, you can use the smokefree app to access advice and support on how you can best stop smoking. Search ‘Smokefree’.

Follow the Smokefree Action Coalition #quitforcovid campaign on Twitter.

New research shows e-cigarette vape increases the potential for lung bacteria to cause harm

Researchers from Queen’s University Belfast have discovered that bacteria often found in the lungs became more harmful and caused increased inflammation when they were exposed to e-cigarette vape. Continue reading New research shows e-cigarette vape increases the potential for lung bacteria to cause harm

Government must act to tackle obesity, says cancer charity

Obese people outnumber smokers two to one

New figures from Cancer Research UK show that people who are obese now outnumber people who smoke two to one in the UK, and excess weight causes more cases of certain cancers than smoking, as the charity urges Government action to tackle obesity. Continue reading Government must act to tackle obesity, says cancer charity

ASH award for smoke-free Spartans Alternative School

The Alternative School at Spartans Community Football Academy are proud to be one of nine Scottish organisations recognised this week in an award ceremony for their work in support of Scotland’s Charter for a Tobacco-free Generation. Continue reading ASH award for smoke-free Spartans Alternative School

New figures highlight need for sustained investment in smoking cessation services

New figures published yesterday have revealed that smoking cessation services have failed to meet performance standards for the sixth year running. Continue reading New figures highlight need for sustained investment in smoking cessation services