National No Smoking Day

NSD isn't just about the Day. Giving up smoking requires much planning, encouragement, support and motivation. Helping others to prepare to give up can be done year round, but the Day provides an excellent focus and motivation for many smokers to quit.

The day's main messages:

No Smoking Day is a good opportunity to stop.
Smokers can get help when they want to stop.
There are health and other benefits to stopping smoking.

What the day does:

Spurs smokers into action - millions took part in NSD 2001.
Appeals to smokers of all types - whatever their age, sex or social status - but particularly young smokers and less affluent smokers.
Publicises and explains the help that smokers can get when they want to quit.
Captures the attention of the media with lots of supportive TV, newspaper and radio coverage.

What it doesn't do:

Try to force smokers to stop - it's for people who are already interested in doing something about their smoking.
Harass smokers - it's not about banning smoking, or picking on smokers.
Work in isolation - smokers need support before and after the Day too. 
 

Giving up - what's it like ?  

What will happen when a smoker stops smoking?

They may experience withdrawal symptoms such as cravings, irritability, restlessness, anxiety, tension, tiredness, and difficulty in concentrating. These will of course be very noticeable changes as they probably didn't experience them to such an extent when you were smoking. But these are not a reason to start smoking again as they will begin to disappear

Why do people put on weight when they stop smoking?

When people smoke the nicotine from cigarettes releases a chemical called seratonin in your brain. Seratonin is an appetite suppressant, so when someone smokes they sometimes don't want to eat as much. Hence, when they stop smoking you may find that people crave certain foods - many people find that they want to eat more sweet foods. Also, within 2 days of stopping smoking the sense of taste and smell improves, which is why food starts to taste better.

What can be done about putting on weight?

It's important to remember that someone would have to gain a considerable amount of weight to offset the health benefits of quitting. But to avoid overeating, high fat snacks like biscuits and cakes should be avoided, and snacking on fruit and vegetables encouraged instead.

There is some evidence that quitters who use NRT gum or sprays can halve their rate of weight gain, which may be something to bear in mind when thinking about stopping.

Taking a little more exercise can help offset extra eating. If you do end up with a few more pounds, tackle them after you're clear of smoking. Starting smoking again won't help!

Why do people cough more when they have stopped smoking?

Firstly, this is good news! Coughing more means that the tiny, little hairs in the lungs (which are your body's cleaning system) haven't been killed off and are now starting to work again. They have come out of paralysis and are starting to clean lungs of the tar that has built up there while they have been smoking. This process shouldn't last too long.

Health benefits of giving up

 You don't have to wait for years for the benefits of stopping smoking to become apparent. Stopping smoking has immediate health benefits for everyone, after:

20 minutes:  Blood pressure and pulse return to normal.
 
8 hours:  Nicotine and carbon monoxide levels in the blood are halved, oxygen levels in the blood return to normal.
 
24 hours:  Carbon monoxide is eliminated from the body and lungs start to clear out debris.
 
48 hours:  There is no nicotine left in the body, taste and smell are greatly improved.
 
72 hours:   Breathing becomes easier, bronchial tubes begin to relax, energy levels increase.
 
2 - 12 weeks:  Circulation improves, making walking and running a lot easier.
 
3 - 9 months:  Coughs, wheezing and breathing problems improve as lung function is increased by up to 10%.

If you stop smoking you will reduce your risk of developing lung cancer, other cancers, heart attack, stroke and chronic lung disease.

Stopping smoking at any age increases your life expectancy, provided that you stop before developing cancer or any other serious disease. Even if you have developed disease, you can benefit from stopping.

Smokers who quit before the age of 35 have a life expectancy not significantly different from that of a non-smoker.

Smokers who stop between 65 and 74 years of age have a better life expectancy beyond 75 than those who continue to smoke.

A smoker who has suffered from a heart attack can halve the risk of a second heart attack by stopping smoking.

Ten years after stopping smoking an ex-smoker's risk of lung cancer is reduced by 30 - 50% compared with that of a continuing smoker.

For further information on this year's campaign, go to the National No Smoking Day website www.nosmokingday.org.uk

This information has been provided by Health Promotion England