Service

Did you know you can speak to your GP, local pharmacy or local stop smoking service for expert advice on stop smoking medicines.

For those over 18, have you thought about alternatives to cigarettes such as e-cigarettes?

• You are more likely to quit smoking if you do it through a specialist support service
• Services are free and they provide one to one support. 
• Local stop smoking services staffed by expert advisers provide a range of proven methods to help you quit.

• After 20 minutes your blood pressure and pulse return to normal
• After 24 hours your lungs start to clear 
• After two days your body is nicotine-free and your sense of taste and smell improve 
• After three days you can breathe more easily, and your energy increases.

You must be over 18 to buy cigarettes in the UK. If you’re under 16 the police have the right to confiscate your cigarettes.

It's illegal:

• for shops to sell you cigarettes if you are underage
• for an adult to buy you cigarettes if you are under 18
• to smoke in a car with a child.

E-cigarettes are age-restricted products by law. The minimum age to purchase is 18. Any retailer who sells an e-cigarette to someone under the age of 18 is committing an offence, and both the business owner and staff members who made the sale can be penalised.

Tobacco contains nicotine, which is highly addictive. Nicotine works just like addictive drugs such as heroin. It makes the body and mind become used to having it. You start to need nicotine in order to feel normal. The potential health risks associated with smoking include:

• cancer – 90% of lung cancer is caused by smoking
• emphysema, a type of lung disease where the tissue in your lungs breaks down
• heart disease
• asthma –  and if you already have it, smoking usually makes it worse
• other lung diseases
• not being able to get or sustain an erection (sometimes called impotence)
• increased stress when you're addicted and you've not had a cigarette.

If you hang around people who smoke, even if you aren’t the one smoking, this can also cause health problems. You will breathe in their smoke, even if you don't realise it. This is known as passive smoking.

Secondhand smoke is dangerous, especially for children. The best way to protect loved ones is to quit smoking. At the very least, make sure you have a smokefree home and car. People who breathe in secondhand smoke regularly are more likely to get the same diseases as smokers, including lung cancer and heart disease.

The only way to protect your friends and family from secondhand smoke is to keep the environment around them smoke free. The best way to do that is to quit smoking completely. If you're not ready to quit, make every effort to keep your cigarette smoke away from other people and never smoke indoors or in the car.

You should:

• always smoke outside
• ask your visitors to smoke outside
• not smoke in the car or allow anyone else to

Stopping smoking will help both you and your baby immediately. Harmful gases, such as carbon monoxide, and other damaging chemicals will clear from your body. When you stop smoking:

• you will reduce the risk of complications in pregnancy and birth
• you are more likely to have a healthier pregnancy and a healthier baby
• you will reduce the risk of stillbirth
• your baby is less likely to be born too early and have to face the breathing, feeding and health problems that often go with being premature
• your baby is less likely to be born with a low birth weight. Babies of smokers are, on average, 200g (about 8oz) lighter than other babies, which can cause problems during and after labour. For example, they are more likely to have problems keeping warm and are more likely to get infections
• you will reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), also known as "cot death".

Stopping smoking now will also help your baby later in life. Children whose parents smoke are more likely to suffer from asthma and other serious illnesses that may need hospital treatment.

Betel quid, paan or gutkha is a mixture of ingredients, including betel nut (also called areca nut), herbs, spices and often tobacco, wrapped in a betel leaf. Chewing smokeless tobacco, such as paan or gutkha, is popular with many people from south Asian communities, but all forms of tobacco can harm your health.

Research has shown that using smokeless tobacco raises the risk of mouth cancer and oesophageal (food pipe) cancer. Studies have also found that betel itself can raise the risk of cancer, so chewing betel quid without tobacco is still harmful.

Smoking increases your risk of cancer, heart disease and respiratory problems. This is true whether you smoke cigarettes, bidi (thin cigarettes of tobacco wrapped in brown tendu leaf) or shisha (also known as a waterpipe or hookah). Like cigarette smoke, waterpipe smoke contains significant levels of cancer-causing chemicals and toxic gases such as carbon monoxide.