Smoking

No Smoking Day is all about supporting all those many smokers who want to quit. Each year smokers join in their thousands to try to give up for good on No Smoking Day and a network of local organisers across the UK run No Smoking Day events to help them.

NO SMOKING DAY AIMS TO:

• Encourage and assist smokers who want to quit.
  With two thirds of smokers in the UK wanting to quit, No Smoking Day is a real opportunity for smokers to give up in the company of many others, with around two million smokers joining in on No Smoking Day 1996.
• Make as many people as possible aware of the campaign.
  1996 was a bumper year for No Smoking Day with all time record media coverage of over 1.3 million words broadcast or printed about the day. With awareness levels of 82 per cent amongst smokers, it's clear that No Smoking Day has a place in the hearts and minds of smokers in the UK.

Research showed how this year's slogan and image had broad appeal to smokers, who related to its humorous approach. It's the contribution of all the many local organisers throughout England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that make each No Smoking Day such a success. With your help No Smoking Day can reach and help still more smokers who want to quit. Help achieve national and local health targets. With No Smoking Day helping an estimated 40,000 people to quit each year, over the years No Smoking Day has helped over half a million people to stop smoking.

Our key messages are:

• No Smoking Day is a good opportunity to quit.
• There are health and other benefits to stopping smoking.
• Smokers can get help when they want to quit.
• No Smoking Day is an independent charity, organised by an alliance of fifteen national health promotion, professional and charitable partners with a common interest in reducing smoking related disease.

GET READY TO QUIT WITH A FIRM PLAN

First choose the day when you're going to stop. Think about when it will be easiest to quit: midweek or weekend.

SEVEN DAYS BEFORE YOU QUIT

Make sure you're stopping because YOU want to. Check your own reasons against this list. Then keep this list handy over the next few months.

When I've stopped smoking I'll:

• be fitter
• have more money
• breathe more easily
• be less likely to have a heart attack
• reduce the risk of lung cancer
• have fresher smelling breath, hair and clothes
• have more chance of having a healthy baby
• set a good example to my children

SIX DAYS TO GO

Try to understand your smoking habits. For many people smoking is linked to certain times of day and situations. To break these links you may need to chance your habits for a while. So if you always smoke when you have a cup of coffee, try having a fruit juice instead. Plan in advance how you'll cope with different situations, like at the pub or with friends.

FIVE DAYS BEFOREHAND

Tell your family and friends you've decided to stop and the date when you'll quit. The more encouragement you get, the more successful youÕll be Ñ so ask for their support and understanding. If you want some friendly help and advice on stopping smoking, call the smokers' helpline.

FOUR DAYS TO GO

Give some thought to how you will keep your mind off cigarettes for the next few weeks. You'll need to keep your hands and your mind busy. Now could be the time to try that new hobby that's always interested you.

THREE DAYS BEFORE YOU STOP

Stock up on nibbles. When youÕve stopped you might find it helpful to chew sugar free gum, raw vegetables or fruit.

TWO DAYS TO GO

Try a relaxation technique. You could find out about exercise classes in your area or check your local library for books on stress reduction and relaxation.

THE DAY BEFORE

Now you're ready to stop smoking. Make sure you have no cigarettes around. Before you go to bed throw away your lighter and ash trays.

NOW YOU'VE SENT IT PACKING

Stopping smoking for good is a big step, so remember:

• TAKE ONE DAY AT A TIME
  Make it your goal to get through today, congratulate yourself each day on your success.
• THINK POSITIVELY
  Be positive. If you feel tempted to have a cigarette remind yourself why you've stopped.
• REWARD YOURSELF
  Save the money you would have spent on cigarettes. For a 20 a day smoker this could be around £1000 a year. Plan a treat for the end of the first day, the first week and the first month.
• KEEP BUSY
  Keep yourself busy. You could decide to decorate, do the garden or take exercise.
• CHANGE YOUR ROUTINE
  If a situation might tempt you to smoke, then be ready. If you usually light up when you're on the phone, have a cold drink to hand instead. Don't forget to tell your friends and family you're quitting.
• STICK TO YOUR NORMAL DIET
  If you're hungrier than usual and worried about putting on weight, avoid snacking on high calorie food like chocolate. Stick to raw vegetables and fruit.
• DON'T WAVER
  Don't think that just one cigarette won't hurt. It will. The occasional cigarette will make you crave for more. Don't risk it.
• AVOID TEMPTATION
  However well you're doing don't allow yourself to be tempted and try not to get into situations where you might want a cigarette. If you feel really tempted or just want to talk to someone who understands, call the smokers' helpline.
• THE BENEFITS OF SENDING IT PACKING FOR GOOD
  
  • Your body will begin to get rid of tobacco toxins immediately after you quit.
  • Your blood will have half the levels of nicotine and carbon monoxide within eight hours of quitting.
  • You will have a better sense of taste and smell within a few weeks and your irritating morning cough will start to disappear.
  • Your lungs will recover and you will be less short of breath.
  • Your health will improve.
  • You will feel better knowing you are fitter and less dependent on nicotine.
  • You will halve your risk of a heart attack within a year of not smoking.
  • Your risk of a heart attack will be similar to that of a lifelong non smoker after three years of not smoking.
  • You will probably halve your risk of getting lung cancer if you stay off cigarettes for ten years. The longer you stop the lower the risk.
  • Your risk of getting many of the diseases caused by smoking will be reduced to little more than that of a lifelong non smoker after 15 years of not smoking.

SMOKING RELATED ILLNESS

WHAT HAPPENS TO YOUR LUNGS WHEN YOU SMOKE?

The tar content of cigarette smoke damages the cells in the airways of the lung. Eventually this damage can produce cells which grow in an uncontrollable way leading to cancer of the lung or the larynx. Other harmful substances from the smoke are detected by the protective cells of the body. These cells move to the lung and try to protect it but are destroyed by the cigarette smoke. The dead cells release substances which damage the structure of the lung which leads to chronic bronchitis and to emphysema. Other substances from the cigarette smoke enter the blood stream and are responsible for damage to other organs in the body, the arteries in the heart, the brain and elsewhere can be affected leading to heart attacks, strokes and general poor circulation.

Smoking is the major reason for people in this country dying before their time. It kills 100,000 people a year and maims several times that number. It is a strange fact that if a plane crashes killing 200 people it is on the news often for days. There are major enquiries and all similar planes are grounded and people collect money for the relatives. Yet in this country about every day of the year around 300 people die.

IF YOU GIVE UP SMOKING?

You chances of a heart attack or another will go down by half.

COT DEATHS AND SMOKING

There is a higher incidence of cot deaths in families with smokers and a much higher risk of asthma and chest infection in children. Children who come from families when one or both of the parents smoke show a higher incidence of smoking themselves.

IF ANYONE IS INTERESTED IN TRYING TO SEND IT PACKING PLEASE CONTACT CHARLOTTE HOBSON AT TWEEDMOUTH CLINIC ON 01289 306763 WHERE YOU CAN BE SEEN INDIVIDUALLY OR IN GROUPS.

Brad Cheek 1998