Quitting smoking is a resolution made by many smokers every New Year, but it proves to be too difficult for many. This year’s NHS “Better Health Smoke Free” campaign aims to help tens of thousands to achieve their goal through encouraging them to switch to vaping.
The health and financial benefits of quitting smoking are already well known, but a recent study shows it can also be beneficial to your family too. The Department of Health and Social Care has spoken about the research that found teens whose parents or caregivers are smokers are four times more likely to start smoking.
It said: “Analysis has also shown that early teens whose main caregiver smoked were more than twice as likely to have tried cigarettes and 4 times as likely to be a regular.”
Lead author of the study, Professor Nick Hopkinson said: “The most effective way to help prevent this would be for adults to quit smoking.”
The research was released just before the launch of the NHS quit smoking or switch to vaping campaign, encouraging tobacco users to, “Quit smoking and breathe easier this January”.
The NHS is making a number of free support options available:
1.The NHS Quit Smoking app
2.Support on Facebook
3.Daily emails
4.Texts
5.An online Personal Quit Plan
The personalised NHS quit plan tells smokers: “E-cigarettes/vapes are fast-acting, can really help you manage your nicotine cravings and are at least 95% less harmful than cigarettes. Your local specialist vape shop can find the right one for you.”
Also, the NHS suggests you seek out your local quit smoking service as they can support your quit attempt. Many now embrace vaping as a quit option and the Government has recently released a document encouraging all quit services to encourage smokers to make the switch if they have failed with other approaches previously.
The NHS devotes an entire section of its website to telling the truth about electronic cigarettes. It answers the following questions:
·What are e-cigarettes and how do they work?
·What types of e-cigarette are there?
·How do I choose the right e-cigarette for me?
·Will an e-cigarette help me stop smoking?
·How safe are e-cigarettes?
·What about risks from nicotine?
·Are e-cigarettes safe to use in pregnancy?
·Do they pose a fire risk?
·Is e-cigarette vapour harmful to others? And,
·Can I get an e-cigarette from my GP?
Dr Sarah Jackson, a behavioural scientist at University College London adds another tip: “Whatever your reason for quitting, keep this in mind to stay on track. Try keeping an image of your reason for quitting as your phone wallpaper and looking at it whenever you’re tempted to smoke. Simple things like this can really help.”
Now the only thing you need to do is see which starter kit suits your needs. Good luck!