A smokers guide to quitting

Here, we answer all your queries...

Everyone says I should give up – but why?

It’s simple: you’ll be healthier, have more money, your breath and clothes won’t smell, you’ll look a lot better (and younger) and you'll probably live longer. And you’ll stop being a health hazard to your family and the people around you. Smoking poisons your body and causes over 80% of deaths from lung cancer, bronchitis and emphysema (chronic breathing difficulty), and a quarter of deaths from heart disease. But if you stop now, you will start to cut your risk of these – and many other diseases. There’s hardly any part of your body that isn’t damaged by smoking.

Why is second-hand smoke such a health hazard?

Non-smokers who breathe in second-hand smoke (smoke from other people’s cigarettes) inhale more than 4,000 chemicals, at least 50 of which are known to cause cancer. For non-smokers, breathing other people’s smoke means an increased risk of lung cancer, heart disease and stroke. For children, second-hand smoke means twice the risk of chest illnesses including pneumonia, croup (swollen airways in the lungs) and bronchitis, plus more ear infections, wheezing and asthma, and three times the risk of lung cancer in later life compared with children
who live with non-smokers.

Can’t I just cut down rather than give up?

You can try but it probably won’t work. Smoking is addictive, which is why some people find it so hard to stop completely. When you cut down you tend to just take more and deeper puffs on each cigarette to get your nicotine hit. It’s only by stopping completely that you can beat the addiction.

I’m worried I’ll put on weight when I stop.

Cigarettes do affect your appetite and your metabolism, and they dull
your taste buds, so people often gain a few pounds when they give up. You can prevent that by taking more exercise and staying away from high calorie foods. But if you do gain a little weight, don’t worry – you can lose it again once you’ve quit the cigarettes.