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Seven ways to stop smoking



Since 1st October shops can't sell cigarettes to anyone under 18. It's one good reason to quit - and here are some more:

Want to be richer, fitter and more attractive?

Here are seven (really good) reasons why packing it in altogether is the way forward:

  1. You’ll be healthier and less out of breath: smoking decreases your lung capacity.
  2. You’ll save yourself a packet. Smoking 20 a day for a year costs £1,825.
  3. BRAINWASHING - You’re being sold cigarettes even when you don’t realise it. Tobacco companies are infiltrating YouTube and Facebook with 'positive' messages about smoking.
  4. The younger you start smoking, the more damage there will be to your body as an adult, even after you’ve given up smoking. Someone who starts smoking at 15 is three times as likely to die from cancer than someone who starts in their mid-20s. Half of all teenagers who currently smoke will die of tobacco-related diseases.
  5. Quitting helps save the planet. Deforestation due to tobacco production accounts for nearly 5% of overall deforestation in the developing world, according to research published in a medical journal, the BMJ.
  6. You’ll look better. Chemicals in cigarettes restrict blood flow to your skin. Smokers have more wrinkled and saggy faces by the time they’re in their mid-20s. Bleugh.
  7. Not smoking will make you instantly more attractive. Most people prefer kissing non-smokers.

Nine ways to help yourself through it

OK, enough of the arm twisting. You want to give up, so where to start?

  1. Make a deal with good friends to quit. If you’re honest with good friends you may find they want to as well.
  2. It’s very hard to give up using willpower alone, so get all the help you can find: 12-18 year olds get free nicotine replacement therapy (patches, sprays, gum) on the NHS. Ask your GP. They won’t be shocked you’re a smoker. They’ll be pleased that one of their patients – that’s you – is being so wise. Ring the NHS Smoking Helpline on 0800 169 0 169 or go to www.gosmokefree.co.uk (external site) to find your local NHS Stop Smoking Service. They can provide nicotine patches, support and advice.
  3. Smokers often hate other people quitting, so be prepared for a few put-downs. As one teenager puts it, “My so-called mates are saying I have to kill myself through smoking to hang around with them. Well, thanks.” It’s a good idea to prepare something to say when you’re offered a cigarette. Here are a few (but we’re sure you can think of better ones):

    4. Smoking costs me £xxx a year. I’m giving up so I can buy myself a new mobile/driving lessons/a holiday

    I can’t smoke in my new weekend job so I want to give up.

    My boyfriend/girlfriend doesn’t like kissing a smoker.' It’s true: two-thirds of teenagers say smoking reduces sexual attractiveness.

    I’m taking my sport seriously now and I need to give up to be an athlete

  4. Prepare for a tough few days when you first quit as these are the hardest to cope with for most people. But most of your withdrawal symptoms should have subsided after the first four weeks. Using nicotine gum and patches (NRT) is the best way to make coping with cravings more manageable.
  5. Drink plenty of water to flush away the toxins in your system while you’re quitting. Take water bottles to school, work or college.
  6. Worried about weight gain while you’re quitting? Load your bag up with low-calorie snacks such as apple chips, carrot sticks, mints or chewing gum to get you through the cravings.
  7. Get your family to back you. Your parents will be right behind you on this one. If they don’t know you smoke, they might freak out at first, but if you tell them you’re quitting they’ll do all they can to help.
  8. Do your best to stay away from alcohol, coffee, sugar and sweets during your quit. Studies have shown that these foods (especially the booze) can stimulate cigarette cravings.
  9. And remember... it takes about a month for the nicotine cravings to subside. Take it one day at a time and soon you’ll be smokefree for the rest of your life.

Useful links:

www.gosmokefree.co.uk (external site) An NHS site with information and helplines. Everything you need to know plus online support.

www.tobacco18.co.uk (external site) Legal details of the change in law.

www.kidshealth.org (external site) Good general advice plus some gross pictures of smokers’ lungs (after they died, obviously).