‘WHEN YOU STOP SMOKING, GOOD THINGS START TO HAPPEN’
Stoptober is back this October with a new national campaign designed to encourage and support smokers to quit for good. #Stoptober
Over 5 million adults in England still smoke, and it remains the biggest behavioural cause of preventable illness and death, with 64,000 deaths a year. That is why this year’s Stoptober mass quit attempt is as important as ever, with quitting remaining one of the best things a smoker can do for their health.
This year’s Stoptober campaign is encouraging smokers to join the thousands of others who are committing to quitting for the month of October – quit smoking for 28 days and you’re five times more likely to quit for good.
Since it first launched 12 years ago, Stoptober has helped over 2.5 million people make a quit attempt. This year, the campaign is helping over 5 million smokers in England to rally together to support each other and commit to quitting.
When you stop smoking good things start to happen – quitting will allow you to start moving better, breathe more easily and give you more money to spend. Stoptober offers a range of free quitting tools including: the NHS Quit Smoking app, Facebook messenger bot, Stoptober Facebook online communities, daily emails and SMS, and an online Personal Quit Plan tool.
It provides information and advice on proven quitting methods: the range of stop smoking aids, including further information on how vaping can help you quit, and expert support from local Stop Smoking Services. Just search ‘Stoptober’ for more information or visit the Better Health Quit Smoking Website below.
Better Health: Quit Smoking website
No matter how many times someone has tried to quit in the past, Stoptober encourages all smokers to make a new quit attempt this October. Smokers can search ‘Stoptober’ to get free support, tools, information, and advice on quitting options.
Physical benefits to stopping smoking:
Mental health benefits to stopping smoking:
- Evidence shows that once people have got past the short-term withdrawal stage of quitting, they have reduced anxiety, depression and stress and increased positive mood compared with people who continue to smoke.
- For symptoms of anxiety and depression, stopping smoking is as effective as taking antidepressants. Just 6 weeks after quitting, people start feeling happier as well as healthier.
Financial benefits to stopping smoking:
- On average, smokers in England can save £38 a week by quitting smoking. That’s £167 per month and £2,000 per year from quitting smoking.
Smoking can cause 16 types of cancer, heart disease, COPD and stroke. However, few people realise that smoking is also a significant risk factor for dementia. If you stop smoking it will help protect your brain health and reduce your risk of dementia. To find out more please visit the link below:
All you need to know about smoking and dementia – Alzheimer’s UK
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Smoking doubles the risk of dementia by:
- narrowing the blood vessels in the heart and the brain
- increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and stroke
- causing oxidative stress which damages the brain
How do I quit smoking?
If you’ve decided to quit smoking this year, here are ten top tips to help you succeed:
- Pick a quit date and add it to your calendar
- List your reasons to quit
- Use stop smoking aids to help manage cravings
- Change your routine if you smoke at certain times of day
- Tell people you are quitting
- If you’ve tried to quit before, remember what worked
- Have a plan if you are tempted to smoke
- List your smoking triggers and how to avoid them
- Keep cravings at bay by keeping busy
- Exercise away the urge
There’s a range of free support for those looking to quit, including the NHS Quit Smoking app, Facebook support group, an online Personal Quit Plan and local stop smoking service look-up tool, as well as advice on stop smoking aids including information on how vaping can help you quit smoking. All these and more can be found on the Better Health: Quit Smoking website.
There’s still time to join the thousands of smokers committing to quitting this October. For tips, tools and free support, please search #Stoptober.
You can now receive help to succeed in your journey towards a smoke free future via a self referral to Fitter Futures. You may do this via one of the following ways;
Email clinical.contactcentre@nhs.net
Text quit to 60777
Call 03330050092
