Stop Smoking

Nicotine Addiction is widely recognised to be one of the most addictive of all drugs. Smoking is notoriously difficult to quit. Typically 95 per cent of smokers relapse within the first year.

Please click on any of the following links for further information:

What are the effects of Smoking ?
Why is it so hard to quit?
What treatments are available ?

Champix

What are the effects of smoking?

Smoking and tobacco usage kills more than 114,000 people just in the UK each year. This means more than 300 people die everyday due to smoking

• Almost every type of cancer

• Respiratory illnesses

• Heart Disease

• Erectile Dysfunction and Impotence

Within 20 minutes of giving up smoking the effects are:

Your blood pressure and heart rate will return to normal

The nicotine and carbon monoxide levels in your blood will fall to half with oxygen levels returning to normal within eight hours

All traces of carbon monoxide will be removed from your body within 24 hours

Nicotine will be washed out of your body within 48 hours and your ability to taste and smell things will be vastly improved

Circulation of blood will return to normal from 2 to 12 weeks

In just under a year, your risk of heart attack will become half that of a smoker

In 10 years your risk of lung cancer will be less than half that of a smoker

In 15 years your risk factors for heart attack will become the same as that of a non-smoker

Why is it so hard to quit ?

Nicotine is the most addictive substance known to man. It leads to actual physical dependence, which can cause unpleasant symptoms when a person tries to quit.

Withdrawal symptom	Duration	Proportion of people affected
Irritability/aggression	Less than 4 weeks	50%
Depression	Less than 4 weeks	60%
Restlessness	Less than 4 weeks	60%
Poor concentration	Less than 2 weeks	60%
Increased appetite	Greater than 10 weeks	70%
Light-headedness	Less than 48 hours	10%
Night-time awakenings	Less than a week	25%
Craving	Greater than 2 weeks	70%

On top of the physical dependence on nicotine, smoking is also an extremely habit forming behaviour. For some people this can prove the hardest aspect to break.

What treatments are available?

There are several smoking cessation products available in the UK . Here is a list of some possible treatments that can help you to quit smoking forever.

Medical

Champix: The prescription-only pill also provides relief from cravings and withdrawal symptoms. Champix works on the pleasure centre of the brain to cut the satisfaction smokers get from a cigarette. This means that if people have a lapse and smoke a cigarette, they will find it less enjoyable and are more likely to continue to quit.

Zyban: Zyban was first made to treat depression, but was then found to be useful in helping quitting smoking, regardless of whether or not the person trying to quit is depressed. The tablets are usually taken before stopping smoking, with a stop smoking date set in the first fortnight of taking them.

Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT)

Nicotine gum, sprays, patches, tablets, lozenges, and inhalers are available. Using one of these roughly doubles your chance of stopping smoking if you really want to stop.

Non Medicinal Treatments

Hypnosis: Smoking cessation is one of the most popular medical uses of hypnosis. Hypnosis helps a person learn to deeply relax, be open to suggestions that strengthen resolve to quit, and increase negative feelings toward cigarettes.

Acupuncture: Acupuncture is believed to help trigger the release of endorphins (naturally-occurring pain relief substances) that allow the body to relax.

Behavioral Therapy: Because so much of nicotine addiction is related to the habitual behaviors (the “rituals”) involved in smoking, learning to change the automatic nature of those behaviors is often a standard approach to a smoking cessation program.